


Start Again, Begin Again

by doseki



Series: Down the Waterfall [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Sex, Building up to Keith/Lance and Shiro/Lance, Established Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Healthy Relationships, Hints of ABO, Intercrural Sex, Lance joined them later, M/M, Oral Sex, Post S8, Slice of Life, Slow Build, Threesome - M/M/M, hidden illness (Lance), it'll eventually be all three of them together, klance, shance, shklance - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:29:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 33,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25381636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doseki/pseuds/doseki
Summary: Fluff and smut and a happily ever after for Lance, because S8 hurt my soul.Lance has left Varadero to move to Sierra Vista. Keith wants to know why. (additions will come as I write them.)This fic contains/will contain Keith/Lance, Shiro/Lance, Keith/Shiro, Keith/Lance/Shiro. If any of those relationships weird you out, then this fic will not be for you.Title comes from "I Might Be Wrong" by Radiohead.Start again begin againLet's go down the waterfallThink about the good times and never go back
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron), Keith/Lance/Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Lance/Shiro (Voltron)
Series: Down the Waterfall [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1838101
Comments: 41
Kudos: 148





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank my lovely [waifu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anriko) for beta reading this one for me. Anything leftover that is a clusterfuck is my own doing. <3

It was the same routine every morning. It had been for nearly five months now.  
  
Lance would wake up, shuffle to the bathroom. He'd take a leak, wash his hands, look in the mirror, and absently touch the Altean marks just beneath his eyes. There'd be a debate if shaving was needed, and then he was off to the kitchen. There he'd brew coffee and make a giant breakfast. He'd eat, chase it with two mugs of coffee and head back to the bathroom to drink a full glass of water along with several pills. Finally, he'd floss, brush, get dressed and go about his day.  
  
Not that he did the same thing all day, every day after that. He'd travel to some random location on Earth at least once a week with the other Paladins for a much needed day of catching up and being able to chat openly with the only four other people who had gone through the same things he had.  
  
His blood relatives saw him with less frequency. After all, Lance _had_ moved from the tropical paradise of Varadero to this desert in Sierra Vista. He saw them _enough_ , and he knew he could go back to visit anytime. He probably would soon; Luis and Lisa were expecting baby number three any day now, more than enough reason to head home for a few days.  
  


_He'd left the farm on a Tuesday morning in February amongst teary goodbyes and more hugs than he could remember. The following two weeks he spent in a hotel near his new home in Arizona, adapting to the climate. He spent more time on the phone and doing video calls than he ever had in his life, and the constant reminder that he would see them at Easter and he'd send for his things once the house was complete.  
  
Coming home had been awkward and wonderful. There were tears, more hugs, and Rachel giving him a hard time for moving out into the middle of nowhere with no direct flights, and he was sent out to milk the cows. He'd laughed at that. Kaltenecker was still there in all her glory. That cow would probably live forever. It was one of the better Easters Lance could remember and he knew he'd be homesick when he left.  
  
He went to the airport early that following Monday morning, waiting almost four hours for his delayed flight and mindlessly playing phone games until the battery died. The flight home was uneventful; he went home, sent a 'home safe' text to the family group chat, and passed out for nearly eighteen hours._  
  


Lance vaguely recalled all this and smiled to himself. He really did need to make a trip home, but the idea of going in the middle of summer to all that humidity and daily rain showers made him unconsciously rub his lower back. No, he'd have to plan that carefully. Unless of course, baby number three happened, or something (god forbid) happened to parents.  
  
He sat down on the couch, getting comfy, and picked up his laptop from the coffee table.  
  
_What would Allura think of this place?_  
  
She'd probably have been able to make it so he wasn't so sore all the time, for one. They'd probably still be in Varadero, or maybe moved to Altea. But then, if Allura was here, then there was a good chance Earth might not be. And Altea certainly wouldn't be. Then came that little tiny stab of anger at her for leaving him behind, but it was a flash and nothing more. He'd probably always carry that with him.  
  
He realized he was still staring at his email and had not read a single one of them. He closed the laptop lid, got up off the couch and stretched with several pops of his spine, and opened the blinds.  
  
Blue Lion was still out in his backyard, lying sphinx style like a giant cat. She showed up quite suddenly when Lance was still moving in, settled down in what was going to be his backyard, and then went into what Lance could only assume was hibernation. But only after communicating quite clearly "don't give in."  
  
Give in to what?  
  
But Blue made no response. And five months later, she was still the same. Miraculously, the elements had done nothing to dull her brilliant blue and silver shine.  
  
His hip vibrated, and instinctively he shut the blinds and reached into his pocket. Text message from Shiro to the group chat.  
  


TS: `Gonna meet at the Rockford Spaceport this week. Pidge's choice. Real deep-dish pizza. 7pm.`

  
Lance replied with a thumbs-up, and promptly put his phone back in his pocket. He could feel his phone vibrating again, no doubt with comments from Pidge or Hunk about said pizza and probably the best place to get said pizza. The best place was in Chicago proper once upon a time, but like a lot of the big metropolitan areas, it was hit hard during the war. Rebuilding was an ongoing project. It would take decades.  
  
_All right, enough reminiscing. What's on the agenda today?_  
  
It was Tuesday, so that meant going out and tending to the plants. He had a lot of agave, but they were self-sufficient. The different types of aloe needed some love, and he needed to check on the prickly pear cacti. The afghan pine near Blue Lion probably needed some raking, as fast as those needles fell. He had plenty to keep him busy. He put on his sunglasses, filled up a water bottle, and headed outside.  
  
He paused as he always did when he drew near Blue. She was silent and dim - merely a titanic lawn decoration at this point. The pine needles from the tree weren't as thick on the ground as Lance expected. Nevertheless, he crossed the yard to the shed to get the rake.  
  
  
  
Several hours, a shower and two more bottles of water later, Lance was lounging on his couch again, attempting to read his email. He saw one from Nadia that was undoubtedly kitten photos, and a list of the usual mailing list messages from the Garrison. Lance had never unsubscribed from the list after his honorable discharge; he liked the familiarity of getting the menus, the tips of the week, and rosters for flight sims, things of that nature. He scanned the rest of the senders and archived all the Garrison emails.

He looked at the one from his niece and smiled, feeling that pang of bittersweet homesickness. The two kittens she and Silvio were fostering (at least until the baby arrived) were in various shots. One with a little stripy gray ball of fur asleep in one of Luis's shoes, another with a little orange streak darting across his brother's living room floor, and a few others of them doing various kitten things. He replied with a quick message saying his heart had melted from the cute. The rest were bill reminders, which got moved to their appropriate folders, and that was that.  
  
Lance had stopped eating lunch since moving to Arizona. He wasn't sure if it was the desert air or maybe just the fact that he lived alone and didn't move around as much as he did on the farm, but a hearty breakfast and a decent sized dinner were enough. He had several hours before dinner. It wasn't on the schedule today, but maybe a few hours of flying was a good idea. He called up the spaceport, booked for an opening at two.  
  


The trip to the spaceport was fairly short. Lance had picked the location for that reason. It took several weeks of research to figure out where exactly he was going after he left Varadero and had settled on Sierra Vista. Arizona, for its historical aspects and some distant relatives that were Tewa on mother's side and of course, climate. Sierra Vista for its regional spaceport and ability to fly small private craft. It had worked out fairly well so far.  
  
It wasn't like being in Blue, or even Red (who, as much as Lance loved him, was never really _his_.) But it was still enough. In the air, the deep azure of the sky, the thin feathery clouds, the distant desert landscape below, and the thrum of the engine were soothing. There was the also rush of shooting through the atmosphere, just high enough that you could see the stars but not enough to break orbit. These were small craft, after all.  
  
He flew in a steady loop not terribly far from the spaceport and admired the mountains that he could see well enough from his house. They looked so much more real from the sky, not just a pretty backdrop in the distance from the ground. A distant dust devil, which he was in no danger of encountering wound its through the desert to the southwest. The beauty of the San Pedro River snaked its way across the landscape, a ribbon of green and blue on orange and brown.  
  
He flew until he heard the soft beeping of the timer and he knew his time was up; he didn't look at a clock when he was in the air. With a small sigh, he steered the plane back towards the spaceport to make his descent. He checked in with the ATC and received the all-clear. The landing was one of practiced ease, and he was back home before the sky started to go from pink to purple in the desert twilight.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins meet up without Lance to plot for his upcoming birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank my lovely [waifu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anriko) for beta reading this one for me. Anything leftover that is a clusterfuck is my own doing. <3

"He acknowledged meeting at Rockport," Shiro said, still watching his phone screen for any other input from Lance. After a few more texts from Pidge and Hunk talking about toppings, he sighed and slipped his phone in his pocket.  
  
"Nothing more than the thumbs up," Keith commented, sounding vaguely annoyed.  
  
"Lance is more of a talker than a texter," Pidge said, also putting her phone away.  
  
Hunk was still staring at his phone, apparently waiting for...something. He looked up at the others and hastily shut it down, letting out a sigh. "I know, I know, we're supposed to be planning this surprise party."  
  
The four of them were around a table just outside a teahouse in New San Diego. It was one of Shiro's favorites because of the appetizers that came with the tea, which Pidge and Hunk were both devouring in appreciation.

Pidge gave a nod and absently sipped her bubble tea. "And where we're having it. Also, off-topic, but I'm running out of excuses to detract the Garrison invading his house. He can't possibly think that Blue Lion being in his backyard is something that's off the radar."  
  
"Wonder why," Keith mused. "None of ours have come back unless something changed that you've failed to mention?"  
  
Hunk shook his head. "Not that I wouldn't love to see Yellow again."  
  
Shiro poked at his bubble tea. "Maybe we could ask him."  
  
"I did," Hunk admitted. "He said he had no idea. I just wonder why it was Blue and not Red. He had Red a lot longer."  
  
Pidge chewed thoughtfully on a boba ball and then set the cup down again. "Has anyone talked to his family?"  
  
"Yeah," Shiro said. "His brother called me to tell the baby's due in August. And that Lance had settled nicely into Sierra Vista. When I asked why he moved, he seemed a little evasive and changed the subject pretty fast."  
  
"Mmm," Hunk mused. "Maybe it's none of our business then? Lance isn't offering, and his family is staying silent on his behalf, don't poke the bear. Seems logical to me."  
  
"Lance is more of a twink than a bear," Pidge said with a grin.  
  
"He's more of a twunk," Shiro said, deadpan. "He's not thin enough to be a twink anymore."  
  
Keith, normally the last of them to laugh at Shiro's bad jokes, snorted tea, causing everyone to crack up. "Shiro, _god_." He mopped up the tea and attempted to glare around the table until the laughter subsided. "Anyway, I think we should figure out why he moved."  
  
Shiro raised an eyebrow. "How do you figure?"  
  
"He's been miserable every single time we meet up," Keith said in the tone of someone stating the obvious. "...you guys really haven't noticed?" More silence, some uncomfortable shifting in chairs. "I thought we were just indulging him until he was ready to talk."  
  
"I haven't seen it," Hunk said, slumping in his seat. "But then, he's a really good actor."  
  
"He _was_ a theatre kid," Pidge said. "He told me that he wanted to be a professional before he decided it was more lucrative to join the Garrison."  
  
"I remember teasing him about that," Keith said, suddenly looking very hard at the napkin holder in the middle of the table. "I didn't think he was serious, I thought he was just..." he trailed off.  
  
"Joking, because that's what he does," Shiro finished. Keith gave a slight nod.  
  
"He's always done that," Hunk said thoughtfully. "He likes making people laugh."  
  
"Maybe it's to cover something," Keith said, sounding annoyed again. "Am I really the only one who's seeing this?"  
  
"You see a lot of things most people don't," Shiro said softly. He put a hand lightly on Keith's wrist.  
  
Keith rolled his eyes. "I forget that." He was met with twin scowls from Hunk and Pidge. "I mean, he's been closeted most of his life. That and-"  
  
Pidge adjusted the glasses she didn't need. "Hold on. Lance - mister stares at every pretty girl in the known universe and hits on them - is _closeted?_ "  
  
Keith slanted a look at Shiro. Shiro gave a sheepish grin and a shrug. Keith rolled his eyes again. "For fuck's sake- yes. He likes guys too. I'm guessing it has to do with his family."  
  
"I don't think his family would care," Hunk said thoughtfully and took a bite out of his mochi. "Besides, he never told us!"  
  
"That's what closeted means, Hunk," Keith said dryly. "Anyway, I'm more interested in why he left home."  
  
"Maybe he wanted a change of scenery," Hunk said lightly.  
  
"That's a big change of scenery." Pidge took another sip of her tea. "Only thing Veronica asked me was if I'd gone to see his new house; she didn't seem to indicate anything was _wrong._ "  
  
"None of us have gone to visit," Hunk pointed out. "I know I used the excuse that it was the middle of nowhere and no direct flights, and I'm gonna own that."  
  
"Sierra Vista isn't really the middle of nowhere, but- that's a good point," Pidge agreed. "Why would our water-loving boy move from an oceanic paradise to the _desert?_ "  
  
"Keith may be on to something, yeah," Hunk said, finishing off the mochi. "He's been there, what, a few months?"  
  
Shiro thought for a moment. "Yeah, give or take."  
  
"Was he miserable before all this, Keith?" Pidge asked.  
  
"No, he seemed fine to me."  
  
Hunk raised an eyebrow. "Maybe he's homesick? Anyone else think that's obvious? That seems obvious to me."  
  
"Why would he move, then?" Keith countered.  
  
Hunk shrugged. "He has a reason. He'll tell us either when he's ready, or if he thinks we should know."  
  
"Maybe he got shot down after trying dating again. He doesn't take rejection well," Keith said.  
  
"How do you know?" Shiro asked, looking surprised.  
  
"He asked me on a date during the first year at the Garrison and I shot him down."  
  
"He had a crush on you?" Hunk said, his expression softening. "Aww, that's really cute. Oh, but you shot him down. You probably ripped his heart in half. I think I remember that now, he was mopey for weeks. That was you? Geez, Keith. Maybe you turned him off of guys completely."  
  
"I'm not exactly proud of that," Keith said, looking uncomfortable. "I could've said it a little nicer. Probably hurt him a lot when I hooked up with Shiro."  
  
"No," Shiro was firm. "He was genuinely happy for us. I think Allura was more than proof that he moved on way past a teenage crush. Unless it helps your ego to think he still pines for you," he said with a teasing grin.  
  
"It _does_ ," Keith said seriously, and they all laughed again, breaking the tension.  
  
"I don't think that would be a breaking point. A lot of girls shot him down," Pidge said, picking up a piece of mochi.  
  
Hunk shook his head. "Nah, he may flirt a lot, but it takes a lot for him to ask people out. I had to practically throw him into Allura's arms."  
  
"Lance's dating life and move aside, aren't we here to discuss his birthday?" Shiro, said, trying to get them back on topic.  
  
"Right, right," Pidge said. "So...suggestions? I don't think a third year of laser tag is gonna do it."  
  
Shiro studied his tea. "He really likes it, though."  
  
"Yeah, because he beats all our asses into submission in the first two minutes," Keith snorted.  
  
"What's your suggestion, Keith?" Hunk asked.  
  
Keith was blunt. "I was gonna offer to get him laid if he's still single, but Shiro said that might not be appropriate."  
  
"Maybe a little," Hunk said with a laugh. "Hmm. I think...we bring the celebration to him at his house. Housewarming, maybe. Think he'd like that? Did his family have plans for him?"  
  
"No, Rachel said they have so many birthdays when you include all the aunts and uncles and cousins that they end up celebrating them all around the Autumnal Equinox with the harvest, huge reunion-slash-celebration that goes on for a long weekend," Pidge said. " _This_ family gets to handle his actual birthday."  
  
"I think a housewarming birthday, and maybe take him somewhere fun after," Hunk suggested. "We owe him that. I haven't even visited him yet, and that's not okay." He held up a hand. "Before you all start to justify yourselves, I'm just as guilty. How often did we see him when he was on the farm?"  
  
"At least once every two weeks," Shiro murmured.  
  
"Have any of us visited his new place?" Hunk asked calmly. Several uncomfortable headshakes. "Again, I'm just as guilty," he continued. "Said I was waiting for an invitation, but since when do we wait for invitations in this family?"  
  
"...geez," Pidge said, sinking low in her seat. "You're right; we usually just call and just ask if we can drop by while we're in whatever area."  
  
Hunk was firm. "No, no, no, don't start with that, that's not going to help. What _is_ going to help is for someone to do recon and figure out what kind of menu I need to prep for, and where we're taking him to celebrate the big three-oh."  
  
Shiro was smiling. "Hunk, I love you."  
  
Hunk grinned. "I know. I'm great. But does that sound reasonable? Anyone? No punching holes in walls if you think it doesn't, Keith."  
  
Keith nodded solemnly. "I'll punch a hole in the wall for some other reason."  
  
"Maybe after I finish this current paint job," Shiro said lightly. "Okay, Hunk. So. What do we do? Go all at once? Anyone know what his room situation is like?"  
  
"Let's go see him one or two at a time, as inconvenient as it is to get a flight to Sierra Vista, to start. Think about it; getting there requires how many flight changes? Unless we're hiring a private aircraft?"

"Let's just hire a private flight," Keith said.  
  
"Orrrrr, we could take normal flights and show him the effort we're making to see him because he's important to us?" Hunk said.  
  
"That would probably mean more," Shiro agreed.  
  
"So when are we going, and what are we doing when we get there?" Keith asked.  
  
"I'm going to ask him about Blue Lion," Pidge said. "I have other reasons to be there, not that Lance's birthday isn't a good enough reason to go," she added hastily, noting Hunk's look.  
  
"Put him in a food coma," Hunk said. "And just let the conversation go naturally. It'll probably take a bit to get him to crack, he'll just joke and deflect like usual."  
  
"I'm still on board with getting him laid. He'd probably be super relaxed and say anything after that," Keith said. He glanced at Shiro and then at Hunk and Pidge. "What?"  
  
"Let's table that one for now. Something else?" Shiro suggested.  
  
Keith shrugged. "Like he won't see it a million miles away. I'm just gonna come outright and ask him what he'd like."  
  
Pidge picked up a piece of mochi and took a bite. "Trying to keep the element of surprise here, Keith."  
  
"Then we'll be there to shout 'surprise!'" Keith glanced around again. "What, no good?"  
  
"We _could_ do that," Shiro sounded like he meant the opposite. "It's a good theory, but...how about we just visit and talk to him first?"  
  
Keith blew out an annoyed sigh. "Fine," he said, grabbing a piece of mochi and popping it in his mouth. "We'll try it your way."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith shows up at Lance's house, gets a little aggressive, and Lance is evasive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the love to my [waifu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anriko) for the beta read. <3

Keith wasn't going to sit around and wait while people decided how visiting Lance would go. More than ever, he wanted to know why Lance moved. There was something Not Right about it, and it didn't seem like the others could see it or they didn't care. And he _knew_ that they cared, so obviously they didn't see it.  
  
After he got home, he scribbled a hasty note to Shiro, packed a bag of clothes and toiletries, and was on his way to the spaceport. Shiro was going somewhere with Pidge and Hunk anyway. Hunk had mentioned sushi and tech in the same sentence, so they'd be gone for hours.  
  
That was fine with Keith.  
  
 _He_ wasn't going to wait, not only because waiting was stupid, but because he did feel bad for not going to visit Lance after he moved. No reason to wait around, just go on and do it. Rip off the proverbial bandage.  
  
No issues with purchasing a ticket. Shiro would have words later about the charge on the credit card, but Keith would deal with that too. No issues in customs. The flight was uneventful.  
  
The only slight issue came up when Keith was trying to order a rideshare service; Shiro's call interrupted the address input. Keith sighed, answered, and listened to Shiro's laundry list that could be summed up as 'don't do anything dumb.' "I love you, too," Keith said. "Give Lance more credit. Bye."  
  
"Keith wai-"  
  
Keith ended the call, typed in the rest of Lance's address, and waited for the car to pick him up.  
  
  
  
Whoever Lance was expecting at the door at this hour, it certainly wasn't Keith. Keith noted that there was a flicker of...something in his eyes. Suspicion?  
  
"Did you get lost on the way back to your place? It's about five hundred miles west of here," he said with a grin.  
  
"No," Keith said flatly. "I'm here to see you. Are you gonna let me in or just gawk at me from the door?"  
  
Lance continued grinning and moved away from the door. "Sure, c'mon in."  
  
Keith walked into the house. For the piece of land it was on, it was fairly small, but compared to the townhouse he and Shiro lived in, it was enormous. Typical southwestern, ranch style. Trimmed, painted walls. A lot of pictures on the walls of landscapes from planets that were part of the Coalition. Some pictures of the paladins. His brothers and sisters.  
  
Not one of Allura.  
  
The decor surprised Keith, as he set down his bag. He didn't see Lance being an interior designer, but the furniture was coordinated, placed well, and looked like it could've come out of a magazine. The lighting was bright without being overdone. The entertainment center, he could see, was loaded up with a ton of video game consoles. Of course. There was an ottoman under the window.  
  
"You do this?" Keith asked, gesturing around the living room. Lance looked around, clearly unsure why Keith was in his living room, but he nodded. "Use some template from a magazine or something?"  
  
"No," Lance said with a snort. "I just go with what I think looks good. I actually have taste, believe it or not. Why are you here, Keith? You could've called first."  
  
"I already said, to see you. You're right, I should've," Keith said, sitting down on the couch as though Lance offered. It was far comfier than it looked. "You got anything to drink?"  
  
Lance turned and went to the kitchen. "Water or pear juice or milk. No booze, I'm afraid," he said, pulling glasses out of a cabinet.  
  
"Water is fine," Keith said, looking over the back of the couch. He watched Lance pour water from a pitcher, and bring it back to the living room. He even brought two coasters and set them on the coffee table.

Lance sat down next to Keith and frowned at him. "Seriously. Is it Blue? She hasn't moved since she landed here, but you guys wanna-"  
  
"No, it's not Blue," Keith said, cutting him off and reaching over to get his glass of water. He took a sip, then set it down on the coaster. "I said I came to see you. So." He waited until Lance had taken a sip of his own water. "Why'd you move here?"  
  
Lance paused before taking a second sip of water. "Because this is the plot where I built the house."  
  
Keith's eyes narrowed. "Lance. You know I don't like lying."  
  
Lance shrugged a little. "I'm not, that's the truth. Blue's out back."  
  
Keith sighed quietly. Evasive. Lance was pretty good at that. "You know what I'm asking."  
  
"And I already answered," Lance said coolly, taking another sip of water.  
  
Normally, Keith was under control. Something that he took a lot of pride in. But _something_ about his evasiveness was making Keith's worry skyrocket, and _that_ was making his tight rein of control falter. Before either of them could react, Keith grabbed him by the collar and shoved him _hard_ against the back of the couch while Lance was mid-sip, water splashing down his chest, soaking his shirt. Standing over him, his face inches from Lance's, Keith uttered a growl. "You know what I mean," he said in a low voice. "Why'd you move here?"  
  
"You always get Galra-y after a flight?" Lance said calmly, reaching up to push his hand away.  
  
Not at all the response Keith was expecting. Shiro was always wary when Keith got like this and usually left him alone. "You should be freaking out." He tightened his grip on Lance's collar. "Why'd you leave home?"  
  
"Let go of me. You're gonna rip my shirt."  
  
"So what?" Keith snarled. "Stop evading!"  
  
Lance firmly grabbed Keith's hand to pry it from his shirt. "Keith, _calm down._ " When Keith continued that low growl, eyes still boring into Lance's, Lance sighed and let go of Keith's hand. "Look, I moved here because I _needed_ to. Okay?" Lance's voice rose a few pitches near the end, which made Keith loosen his grip in satisfaction.  
  
There was something. A little something, but something. He let go of Lance's shirt.  
  
"I can't speak for anyone else, but _I_ know you moved because of something major. Did you come out to your parents or something?"  
  
"Of course not!" Lance said, attempting to adjust his wet shirt. "I mean, they already know I like guys and girls. Why would that matter anyway?"  
  
"Yeah, but you've only brought girls home before," Keith said simply. "Did you bring a guy home?"  
  
Lance rolled his eyes. "No. And again, it. Wouldn't. Matter."  
  
"Did you have a fight with someone?"  
  
Lance's composure was starting to show cracks. "No! Of course not."  
  
"Why did you?"  
  
"Because I couldn't handle the humidity anymore. So I left."  
  
"You grew up in that humidity," Keith countered. "And lived in it again for over a decade after the war was over."  
  
"Yeah," Lance said, reaching up to rub his slightly too long hair off his forehead. He was overdue for a haircut and he knew it. "Sometimes you hit a wall of what you can handle. Is that good enough?"  
  
Keith sat back down next to Lance, picking up his water again and staring into the glass. "Sorry."  
  
"It's fine," Lance said calmly, clearly not ruffled by Keith's sudden outburst. "Thanks for not ripping my shirt, though."  
  
Keith laughed awkwardly as drained half the glass of water. "You used to like me."  
  
Lance snorted, looking down at his wet shirt and debating just leaving Keith in the living room while he changed. "You came all this way to bring _that_ back up? You could've just called me about that." Lance laughed. "That was a lifetime ago, but if you need confirmation, sure I did. I thought you were hot and had a crush on you like any dumb teenager."  
  
"Nah," Keith said, glancing over at Lance. "You may have been a flirt with nearly every attractive woman that moved, but I don't think you actually liked people very much. Romantically, I mean."  
  
Lance sighed and got up, snatching the empty glass from Keith. "Speculate all you want. I guess you want me to offer you the guest room while you're here. I'll drive you to the spaceport tomorrow."  
  
"I never said I was leaving tomorrow," Keith said as Lance headed back to the kitchen to deposit the glass in the sink. "I came here to find out why you moved, and that's what I'm gonna do."  
  
"I like the mountains and Blue wouldn't have fit on the farm very well," Lance said dryly, heading down the hall.  
  
"Where're you going?"  
  
"To change out of this shirt," Lance called back. Once in his room, he peeled off the wet shirt and went to his closet to find a dry one, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Keith standing in the doorway, staring at him.  
  
"Your birthday is coming up."  
  
Oh, now that made sense. What _didn't_ make sense was sending Keith of all people to get info for the prep. Usually, Hunk would feed him into a food coma, or Shiro would wheedle him gently over the course of a day or two. "Same day every year. You guys know I like laser tag."  
  
"You wanna get laid for it instead?"  
  
"I'm not currently looking, so probably not," Lance said.  
  
"Why?" Keith's voice took on a rather different tone. "You have a good body, and you're handsome, you could probably get anyone you wanted."  
  
Lance chuckled, and Keith didn't miss the slight blush of pleasure as Lance pulled a t-shirt off a hanger. "I'm really not looking, though."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"What're you, five?" Lance grinned, shaking out the shirt's nonexistent wrinkles. "Not everyone needs to be in a relationship, Keith. Pidge is one of the happiest people I know."  
  
"Yeah, but you're not Pidge."  
  
Lance didn't respond, pulling the t-shirt over his head and straightening his hair out once it was on. "Laser tag is fun. And I like that place up in New Olkari that we went to for your birthday, they had good cheesecake."  
  
Keith decided to keep prodding. "I also asked if you wanted to get laid. Escorts are an option. Get your rocks off. Be good for you."  
  
Lance laughed at that. "I'm truly touched by your concern, but I'll be fine."  
  
"What if they topped?"  
  
Lance actually blushed again at that and shook his head. "Like I said, I'll be fine. Excuse me, I'm going back to the living room."  
  
Keith moved aside and glanced into Lance's room for a moment. Just as pretty as the living room. King-size platform bed with a pretty headboard, matching bedside tables, the left near the door one with a lamp, the right one near the window had another photo.  
  
No tissues, Keith noticed. He thought that was a given for any guy's bed. He noted all the woodwork matched that of the chest of drawers too, and there were more photos and some jars of various lotions and astringents on the dresser. Keith remembered that; Lance gave himself facials. He almost snorted to himself. But he did have pretty skin...  
  
He followed after Lance to the living room. Sat down next to him again and propped his chin on his hand as he studied Lance.  
  
Lance was looking at his phone. He frowned and looked over at Keith. "Dude."  
  
"Sorry. Does staring make you uncomfortable?"  
  
Lance snorted. "Nah, not really. If you wanna look, look."  
  
After several minutes of silence, minus the soft taps and swishes Lance did on his phone screen, he looked back over at Keith, who was still staring at him. "Is this how this visit is gonna go until you leave? You can take what I said back to Hunk and Pidge, I know they're planning a surprise party."  
  
Keith almost gloated. "Yeah, I told them that, too."  
  
"Then you got what you came for. Would've been cheaper to call and ask, ya know," Lance said with a grin.  
  
"I don't like talking on the phone," Keith said. "So I either stare at you, or you talk to me, and you tell me why you moved here."  
  
"Oh my god," Lance groaned. "Fine, you can just stare, or come up with some other topic." He took his phone out and started swiping again. "Remote is on the table next to you if you wanna watch something. Also, all the game consoles, if you want to play something."  
  
"I'm watching something."  
  
Lance looked at Keith from the corner of his eye. Yep, he was still staring at him. "Well, enjoy."  
  
"It was better without the shirt."  
  
Lance resisted the urge to sigh or laugh. He could _not_ figure out Keith's deal, or whatever this weird almost-flirting was, aside from being nosy about the move. Maybe he was there to scout for anything weird, besides Blue Lion out back. No doubt he'd go see her when he got bored of trying to make Lance uncomfortable. Several games later, he finally looked up from his phone.  
  
Keith. Was. Still. Staring.  
  
"Okay, you got me. I'm a little uncomfortable now."  
  
Keith grinned. "Good."  
  
Lance deftly changed the subject. "Did you eat already?"  
  
"I could go for a bite."  
  
"Sure. Plenty of places to choose from in town," Lance said. He normally didn't go out on Wednesday nights, but he didn't have enough of any ingredient in the pantry or fridge to cook for two unless they ate different things. Might not be bad to go out to eat for once on a weeknight anyway. He'd probably have to go shopping tomorrow.  
  
"Pick your favorite," Keith said, getting up. He picked up the half-full water glass that still on the coffee table and finished it off, and got up to put it in the kitchen sink.  
  
"You don't have to do that," Lance said as Keith went into the kitchen.  
  
"Sure don't," Keith said. "I saw your car out in the driveway."  
  
"It gets me where I need to go," Lance said, getting up. "Flying is better."  
  
"Still piloting," Keith said, wiping his damp hands off on his jeans. "Nice."  
  
"Not the same as Blue, but it works." Lance picked up the keys out of the bowl by the front door. "C'mon, let's go get you some food."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro hangs out at home with his husband's giant space wolf and muses a little bit.

Shiro came home to Kosmo hairing up the couch. The wolf knew it was off-limits, and immediately got off of it, and looked up at Shiro with big gold eyes, his tail wagging. Shiro chuckled, removing his prosthetic arm to give his shoulder a rest and set it on a table near the door.  
  
He glanced at the note Keith left on said table, though he didn't really need it. He knew Keith was gonna go to Lance's place before the conversation at the teahouse was over. But still, it was nice that Keith left the note. He'd meet up with them in Rockport on Thursday and fly home with Shiro that evening. He set down the note and cleared his throat at Kosmo, who looked sheepish and offered a pathetic whine as an apology for being on the couch.  
  
"Keith's not here to yell at you, but I suppose you knew that," Shiro said with a laugh, giving him pets and rubbing him behind the ears. "Didn't even try to stop him?  
  
Kosmo uttered another pathetic whine. Shiro laughed again. "You're not in trouble. Keith's gone for a few nights, just us two. How about a treat?"  
  
The wolf gave an excited bark and followed Shiro to the kitchen, giant tail still wagging excitedly. The furnishings had been set up where anything that would get whacked by waggy wolfy tail was high up, though Shiro always flinched a little when he heard the smack of that tail against furniture. He opened the fridge, got out a cut of steak, and put it on the cutting board. He cut a slice and tossed it to Kosmo. The wolf snapped it up in his mouth and ate it in one bite, nose twitching at Shiro for more.  
  
"One more," Shiro said, knowing it would be two because he always gave in to those big gold eyes. "Don't wanna spoil your appetite."  
  
Kosmo arfed happily and snapped up the second tossed piece of steak, and then the third, licking his chops contentedly. Shiro had already eaten at the sushi joint earlier with Pidge and Hunk, so he wasn't hungry. He wrapped up the remainder of the steak, washed his hand, and went to sit on the couch with Kosmo. He glanced at the clock before turning on the TV. He had about forty-five minutes before Keith would be available to talk. No matter how fast travel was now, there was still the matter of taking off and landing. And the earliest flight Keith could have made after leaving the teahouse was only an hour ago. He'd wait a while longer. Then call, if Keith didn't first.  
  
He watched an animal show with Kosmo, not minding the wolf being on the couch at all. Kosmo showed a lot of interest in Terran animals, and unfortunately, there weren't a lot of shows that showed other planets' nature documentaries in the streams yet. Comedy and some ongoing drama that Coran swore by. Documentaries would make it eventually. He absently stroked the wolf's ears while they watched, Kosmo canting his head to the side at the earth wolves on-screen, nose twitching in curiosity. When the next show started up, Shiro picked up his phone and called Keith.  
  
Keith answered. "Yeah?"  
  
"Hey, glad you landed okay."  
  
"I was gonna text that," Keith said impatiently on the other end.  
  
"I know," Shiro said. "Listen, just...don't act on your impulses more than you are now. If he moved because things went south, his head could be in a really bad place."  
  
"He's not a doll, Shiro."  
  
"No. Just...think things through before you act on them."  
  
"What if I offer to fuck him?"  
  
"If that's what you _both_ want," Shiro said firmly, though Keith knew the emphasis was for Lance's sake, not his. "But just be careful. You're right, he's not a doll. But if he's in a bad spot, and you see he really can't consent...well, you know that."  
  
"Of course," Keith said with an annoyed snort, and Shiro smiled, knowing the face and nose wrinkle that went with it. "I still think he needs to get laid."  
  
"I know you do, Keith," Shiro said with a grin. "Maybe he does. You know I wouldn't mind giving it to him if he wanted it."  
  
He could hear the grin in Keith's voice. "He really cleaned up nicely after puberty finished ravaging him, huh?"  
  
Keith was never going to let Shiro live that one down. He'd caught Shiro openly staring at Lance at a black-tie dinner, Shiro had hastily mumbled to Keith that exact phrase, and boy did Keith run with it. It was a few years after the war, and there was finally time to celebrate their victories and remember those they'd lost. Sure, they were all dressed for the occasion, so everyone looked good, but damn if Lance hadn't had a glow up. Keith teased Shiro for hours after, saying he should've asked Lance for a dance. After all, Lance was the only one there without a date, but he seemed happy enough chatting with everyone, and Shiro was still unsure at the time what was okay with Keith and what wasn't.  
  
Later, he found out that Keith had no problem with it, and that Keith didn't see sex as something that would make or break his relationship with Shiro. After all, Keith, who usually had next to no time for most societal customs, married _Shiro_. He wasn't going anywhere, no matter who he did or didn't sleep with. They could be open with talking about the attractiveness of other people, though for the most part, Keith didn't really seem to see other people at all.  
  
Except for Lance. As much as Shiro had stared at Lance at the dinner, he could see Keith was doing the same thing and continued to do the same thing during their weekly meetups after that.  
  
After many conversations whispered into the night over the course of several months following the dinner, they both concluded that Lance was incredibly desirable, they both wanted him and were both okay with that. But unless it was explicitly offered, neither of them would ever act on it. Besides, Lance's only interest had ever been in Keith of the two of them anyway, and that was nearly twenty years ago and had long since fizzled out. Still, it was hard sometimes, especially during the summers back when Lance still lived in Varadero, and they all went to the beach and he wore those board shorts that hung low on his hips...  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Shiro said; he was trying not to dwell too much on the mental image of Lance, wet from the ocean and walking up to the beach with the waves dragging those shorts even _lower._ "I love you."  
  
"I love you, too," Keith said. "Give Lance more credit."  
  
Shiro frowned. He wanted to tell Keith again to not be impulsive. "Keith wai-"  
  
But Keith had already hung up.  
  
"Oh well," Shiro said, putting the phone down. "How about a movie marathon tonight, Kosmo?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is a great host, Keith talks to Shiro on the phone for some reassurance, and Lance is still being evasive.

Dinner was Thai fusion. Lance offered drinks, but Keith didn't want his judgment clouded. They both settled for water and tea. The place was ritzy, and Keith watched Lance write down a more-than-generous tip on the bill when it came.  
  
Damn. He thought he knew Lance well, but it was starting to occur to him that he didn't know as much as he thought.  
  
But he never really considered what else he was beyond one of the paladins who'd gone literally to the end of the universe (and the beginning) and back. Sure he knew he and Allura had a beautiful, if short relationship, and she did something to him at the convergence of all realities because he had marks afterward. He had taken the honorable discharge from the Garrison to go farm, of all things. He was still good at cracking jokes, he planned fun get-togethers when it was his turn. He still played video games.  
  
But then he moved away from home to this house in the middle of the desert, not even close to any of the Paladins. And wouldn't say why, and his family wouldn't either.  
  
Why not?  
  
He was a theatre kid. A really good actor. He still made an effort with his looks, working out to keep in shape. He clearly invested in his yard, because he didn't see any other houses on the way to Lance's house with plants that looked as pretty and varied as his. His taste in home decor would make Hunk weep in envy, especially the kitchen. He still flew. A glance at the bookshelves in his house proved he was well-read because many of the spines were bent and showed wear; they weren't just for show. He dressed really damn well, too, even just in jeans and a t-shirt, not the ragged threadbare things Keith would expect either.  
  
What else was there to this man? There was definitely more to the man behind the goofy facade, the group comedian who always trying to keep them laughing and ease the tension.  
  
He was becoming more intriguing every moment. More than just fantasy fodder where he was fucking him in any given position on any surface available. There was a depth to Lance that was taking him by surprise and he didn't quite know how to deal with it.  
  
Keith mused about all of this as he followed Lance back into his house. Lance dropped the keys into the bowl by the door and told Keith the door would lock automatically at nine and not to worry about it. Keith made note of this, picked up his bag, and followed Lance past his room's open door to one of the guest rooms.  
  
"I wasn't expecting company," Lance explained as he knelt next to a linen chest and opened it. "But I do wash these sheets weekly, so they're good. I'll have to make up your bed. I'll show you the bathroom in a sec."  
  
Keith was floored. He'd manhandled Lance and prodded him to talk about something deeply personal. Instead, he was talking about making Keith's bed and giving him a tour like nothing was out of the ordinary.  
  
_Damn, Lance._  
  
"I'm gonna go out and check on Blue if that's okay," Keith said, depositing his bag on the floor near the door.  
  
"Sure, you can go out back via the sliding door in the dinette," Lance said.  
  
Keith left him to it and headed out the sliding glass door that led off from the dining area. No pool. Odd, for someone who loved to swim as much as Lance did. But yep, there was Blue, a good hundred or so yards back from the house, like you couldn't see her from the street. Damn, how big was this yard of his? He squinted to see where the next nearest house was. At least quarter-mile away, though you'd still be able to see Blue Lion. Maybe his neighbors didn't care. As Lance said, she wasn't responsive. No lights, no hum. Blue had never been his, but he put a hand to her anyway.  
  
Nothing. Cold metal.  
  
"Wonder why you're here? Why not Red?" Keith said to her, knowing the Lion wouldn't hear him. "Where are the others?"  
  
Silence. Off in the distance, a coyote howled. Keith looked around. The distant mountains on the horizon were starting to get dark and cast long shadows, and the stars were starting to come out. It was beautiful and lonely and wild out here.  
  
And Lance lived here. All alone.  
  
Quiznak. Keith scrubbed his face and pulled his phone out as he leaned against Blue.  
  
"That was fast," Shiro said lightly.  
  
"We just got back from dinner. He's making the guest bed. I came out to see Blue. Shiro, he's...shit."  
  
"He's not," Shiro said. "I'm kidding, I know that's not what you mean. Go on, what do you mean?"  
  
"I don't know how to say it. I thought he'd give me a harder time, or kick me out, or...fuck, I don't know. He hasn't kicked me out yet, he's putting up with me prodding him, and I even went kind of...um. Galra on him."  
  
There was a pause. "How Galra?" Shiro asked cautiously.  
  
"Just a little. Grabbed his shirt, yelled. Nothing dangerous. And he didn't even _flinch._ "  
  
"What else?"  
  
"Not much. His only reasoning was because he needed to move. At dinner, I kept the conversation strictly about flying or the Garrison, but I'm gonna try to prod him again when I go back inside. But goddamn it, Shiro, you should see this house and his yard. And he decorated and landscaped it himself. It's gorgeous."  
  
"Lance has always been mindful of appearances. His own and his dwellings. He kept his quarters spotless on the ship, even with all those game systems, remember?"  
  
"I remember he gave himself facials and mani-pedis, I didn't really think about seeing how neat his quarters were."  
  
"Oh god, those facials. 'Half a varga, it's gotta set in so the nutrients really soak into the skin,'" Shiro said, doing a fair imitation of Lance's voice.  
  
"So he's vain," Keith said. He could use that to his advantage if he needed to.  
  
"Kind of? I think it's more like he makes the effort and takes pride in doing so. Not so much because he thinks he's hot."  
  
Keith scoffed. "He knows he's hot."  
  
"That's news to me," Shiro said, sounding surprised.  
  
"He-" Keith was suddenly stumped. "I guess not."  
  
"But he is hot, though," Shiro assured with an audible smile.  
  
"Yeah, he is."  
  
"I wanted to say if you do end up fucking, you better tell me about it. I want all the details."  
  
"I thought you said something about consent and if he's not ready and fragile mind and all that," Keith snorted.  
  
"I said that too, that still applies."  
  
"Oh my god. I love you," Keith said with a laugh. "And thanks for the reassurance. I'll let you know. Mostly, I just want to figure out what his deal is. He said some BS about what he wanted for his birthday, but I think he was just trying to placate me."  
  
"That's why we're gonna plan together," Shiro said. "Kosmo says hi. And I love you, too."  
  
"Don't let him get on the couch," Keith said. "I should go, Lance's gonna wonder where I went."  
  
"Mmhmm. Good night."  
  
"Shiro, you tell Kosmo to get off the-"  
  
But Shiro had hung up.  
  
Keith laughed. He knew that giant space wolf probably had his head in Shiro's lap. Shiro was such a softie for him. He grinned, pocketed his phone, and jogged back to the house.  
  
Lance was waiting for him. "Told you Blue wasn't doing anything," he said. "How's Shiro?"  
  
"Good," Keith said, hiding his surprise that Lance knew what he'd been doing out there. "Letting my big spoiled wolf get on the couch when he's not supposed to."  
  
"I imagine that's fun to use a lint brush on," Lance said with a wry grin. "All right, let me give you the tour so you know where some things are. This room-" he said, gesturing to the door that led off from the kitchen. "-is the laundry room if you need it. The dryer needs to be on extra hot to dry anything, I haven't gotten around to replacing the hose yet. That's next week. Anything in the pantry or fridge, go for it. I need to go grocery shopping anyway. Microwave is 900 watt, so adjust your cooking times accordingly. Don't worry about the table or counters if you spill anything, they wipe up easy."  
  
He brushed past Keith and pointed at the living room. "I have cable and all the streaming services, and a few consoles if you feel like playing something. Feel free to make use of the TV. The laptop has a guest login if you need it, password is redblue728, all lowercase letters. Same password for the wifi if you need it. You know where your room is, and let me show you the guest bath."  
  
Keith followed him to the guest bathroom. "Guest bath. The jets work, they're loud at first and don't worry about water usage. Hot water lasts a good long while. You can adjust the water pressure for the shower. The towels and washcloths are clean, I just put them out. Be sure to turn the water off entirely on the sink, it likes to drip unless you twist hard on the handle."  
  
Keith's eyes widened at the bathroom. This was the guest bathroom? He could only imagine what the master looked like if this had a garden tub and double sinks to boot.  
  
Lance wasn't paying attention to Keith's gawking. He snapped off the light and looked at him. "That's pretty much it. Not a mansion by any means. Two other guest rooms if you feel like looking at them for some reason. Gotta have space for visitors."  
  
Keith glanced at Lance's face to see if there was a flicker of...anything, really, but Lance was just stating a fact.  
  
"It's nice," Keith said, watching as Lance headed back to the living room. He followed, of course. "You don't seem like the mansion type anyway."  
  
"Nah," Lance said, sitting down the couch and grabbing the remote. Unsurprisingly, Keith sat down next to him, and, once again, stared at him.  
  
Lance sighed as he looked over at him. "Again?" He clicked the remote, mashed a few buttons, and brought up a menu for one of the streaming services. "Keith, you could stare at almost anything else, ya know."  
  
"I could. You want me to stop?" Keith said. Lance turned his attention to the TV and attempted to ignore him.  
  
So he wasn't telling him to stop. Because Keith would, without hesitation.  
  
Keith waited a while. Dinner was digested, Lance was trying to find something to watch. May as well be blunt.  
  
"Why don't you have any pictures of Allura anywhere, Lance?"  
  
The reaction was not quite what Keith was expecting. Maybe Lance snapping it was none of his business, or getting misty-eyed, or ignoring him, but Lance's cheeks turning vaguely green, and him getting up and bolting down the hall was _not_ it.  
  
He heard a door slam and water running.  
  
_Oh._  
  
Lance was covering the sounds of throwing up. Keith winced a little. Curry coming up was undoubtedly unpleasant. Was that part of why he moved? Allura? She'd gone to his home, after all. What else? Keith was thoughtful while he waited for Lance to come back. Voltron? The war? But they all had issues from that; that was expected.  
  
What else? Maybe that was it. Allura being gone was bad enough. But this was Lance, there had to be _something_ else. Or elses.  
  
When Lance came back, his face was red, and his eyes looked watery, and he looked...tired. Not angry, not upset, or sad. Just tired.  
  
"To answer your question...let's just say it’s a tough subject."  
  
Okay, that was fair. "Sorry for the startling question," Keith said because he meant it. "I just thought it was odd to have her so pointedly not in any of them."  
  
"Yeah," Lance said "It probably is weird, but I don't really need them. She's still here." His face turned slightly red as he put a hand over his heart. "That sounds really cliché, I know. Plus, I see it every day when I look in the mirror."  
  
"No, it doesn't sound stupid," Keith said seriously. "Is that why you moved? I know she went to your family's house."  
  
"Oh for- no, Keith. I moved because I needed to, okay?"  
  
"You homesick?"  
  
"Nope," Lance said quickly.  
  
Keith grinned. "Now that was just bad. Liar."  
  
"...wow. Guess all those classes weren't enough," Lance said, flipping mindlessly through shows, as though he would settle on one.  
  
"Theatre classes?" Keith asked.  
  
"Yeah," Lance said. "I should be surprised you remember that, but I'm kinda glad you did."  
  
"I wouldn't forget a thing like that," Keith said. "Pick something, or I start asking you more questions."  
  
Lance gave up on it and set the remote down. "I'm braced for it now, at least."  
  
"Obviously, you still hurt from _that_ ," Keith was careful not to say Allura's name, which seemed to be easier on Lance at least. "Which again, totally understandable, but not the reason you moved."  
  
Lance gave the slightest nod. It wasn't a question, but a statement.  
  
"All right. How about being queer? What about that?"  
  
Lance blew out a slight breath. "I already said that's not an issue, Keith."  
  
"Then why are you still single? It's been more than ten years, Lance."  
  
"I don't know. I'm not really good at asking people out. Plus you know, galactic war and the residual PTSD, I think that affected that."  
  
Keith glanced over at the TV, noting that the volume was muted, though he could see captions. He looked back at Lance, who still looked tired more than anything. "Are you celibate?"  
  
"I'm not seeing anyone if that's what you're asking," Lance said. "Did Hunk put you up to this? You lose a bet or something?"  
  
Keith ignored the latter commentary. "Maybe that's something you should work on."  
  
"If you're gonna suggest therapy, I went already. Four years," Lance said.  
  
"I wasn't going to suggest that, but I'm glad you took advantage of it."  
  
Keith had gone. All the paladins had. Keith had benefited hugely from it. He wasn't sure how the others had taken it. Shiro, he knew, slept better at least. And that was good enough for Keith.  
  
"So do you bang escorts or what?"  
  
"No, just one night stands," Lance said, turning off the TV. "Do what you want, but I'm gonna do my routine before bed. And I do it in here."  
  
Keith wondered what routine, but he noticed the yoga mat rolled up and wedged between the wall and the entertainment center. Yeah, there was room for that.  
  
Watching Lance do yoga. That would probably be _interesting._


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are now firmly in Explicit territory. Keith watches Lance do yoga and fantasizes in the shower. 
> 
> But also, Keith finds out why Lance moved in the first place.

Keith was glad he stayed to watch Lance at least start his routine.  
  
He'd changed into a tank top and shorts, which was a treat in and of itself. The routine itself looked like yoga, but something was a little different about the movements - like the fact that Lance immediately dropped down into a split.  
  
"Ow," Keith said wryly.  
  
"Yeah, only if you hit the floor too fast," Lance said, reaching back and pulling his ankle nearly over his head in a curl.  
  
"Yoga?"  
  
"Sort of. It's an Olkari routine that they use to keep in shape and keep their mortal forms connected to the greater universe. Space yoga, basically," Lance said, holding the pose.  
  
Keith watched, mostly wondering if Lance even had bones. After a while, his head was starting to hurt, and he needed to take a leak, so he excused himself to the bathroom. When he was done, he opened the medicine cabinet and blinked.  
  
Every single shelf held several multiple prescription bottles. He quickly shut it, feeling like he'd stumbled onto a secret. What the hell did Lance have all _that_ for?  
  
He opened it again, trying to see if there was anything that was over the counter. Trying - and failing - to see that all those bottles were very obviously _there._ _Does Lance take all this?_ Keith zeroed in on one of the bottles and read the description - once daily for seizures.  
  
 _Seizures?_  
  
Since when did Lance have seizures?  
  
"Help you find something?" Lance asked, startling Keith.

He regained his composure in record time. "Was looking for aspirin or something like it. Headache."  
  
"Dry air," Lance nodded knowingly, grabbing a bottle of ibuprofen off the bottom shelf. "I can't take aspirin, it's a blood thinner. Here you go." Lance put the bottle in Keith's hand.  
  
Keith stared at the bottle, and then at Lance. "I wasn't snooping, I swear."  
  
"I didn't think you were," Lance said as he left.  
  
Keith opened the bottle, popped the pill in his mouth, and swallowed it dry. When he got back to the living room, he noted Lance had rolled up the mat and was now mindlessly scrolling through the streaming app again.  
  
"Lance?"  
  
"Mm?"  
  
"Uh...I wasn't snooping, but I couldn't help but see you have...a lot of medication."  
  
"Yep, I do," Lance said, once again giving up on watching anything. His expression softened a little. "I don't really like making a big deal about it. I know all of us have aches and pains from being thrown all around the universe. Literally."  
  
"Of course," Keith said, though he barely noticed the constant dull throb in his knees and shoulders - unless it was raining or really cold.  
  
Oh. Raining. That was a constant along the coast in Cuba. But there was more than that, certainly. Lance had flown with a _concussion_ more than once and had never flinched. He had to have more than just the unfortunate residuals of war.  
  
"Just aches and pains?" Keith persisted.  
  
"Well, that and when your body is constantly rejecting itself, you gotta do what you can to manage it. Dry heat helps a lot," Lance said mildly.  
  
"Huh? When did that happen?"  
  
"A few months after we returned to earth. Something about whatever she did to me was more than skin deep, and my immune system is now in a constant state of either barely working or trying to strangle itself."  
  
Keith blinked. "You never said anything."  
  
"No reason to," Lance said with a shrug. "Look, I left home because I was starting to hurt so bad that I was spending more days in bed than I was working."  
  
"That's a big deal, Lance!"  
  
"Not really," Lance's voice was calm. "And I couldn't ask everyone to move with me. I found out that dry air and heat ease the symptoms by a lot, so that's why I moved here."  
  
"It is a big deal," Keith repeated.  
  
"There's no reason to make it one," Lance said mildly. "Why are you getting worked up about it?"  
  
"Because I thought we were family! Isn't this the sort of thing you share with your family?"  
  
Lance got up. "Sure, if it becomes an issue. It's not an issue, so I've never seen a reason to bring it up. You don't see Shiro bringing up his arm every two seconds. None of us besides Hunk shares when we stub our toe, do we? We all have our aches and pains."  
  
Keith was still unconvinced. "This is a lot more than a stubbed toe."  
  
"Only because you're making it that way." All jocularity from Lance's voice had disappeared, and Keith knew he was probably pushing it a little too hard.  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"To take a shower. And get ready for bed. I usually go around 2200 hours."  
  
 _2200? Kinda early,_ Keith thought as he watched him go.

He caught himself staring at the curve of Lance's ass in those nicely clinging shorts. He should've looked at the front more, but he wasn't trying to be quite so overt in his appraisal of him after all. He wondered if it was the Olkari routine that gave him all that definition or something else.  
  
Keith roused himself out of his hormonal thoughts and sent Shiro a quick text. If Lance was going to go to bed so early, he may as well too. Maybe take a shower - and jerk off, so he could calm down and stop seriously considering jumping Lance every two seconds when he wasn't getting frustrated with him.  
  
What was going on with him? He _was_ surprised Lance hadn't kicked him out. He'd been temperamental ever since he arrived in between the spots of civility. Maybe it was sexual tension, that's why he kept lingering on the primal and physical. Or it was concern coming across as anger, which was probably more likely.  
  
He heard the doors click - right, they were on a timer. He got up and turned off the living room lights. When he got to the guest bathroom, he could hear the water running faintly through the wall; Lance had already started his shower. He set his phone on the bathroom counter and slipped out of his clothes.

The familiar ping of the group chat went off and Keith, interested, glanced at the screen. Shiro had just sent an image; a selfie on the couch with a widely-grinning Kosmo.

  
KH: `Cuuuuuuuute! `Pidge, with a heart eyes emoji.  
  
HG: `Don't let Keith find out!`

  
Keith grinned, and let it slide. Maybe Lance would reply. Otherwise, he'd send a frowny face text after his shower. Shiro had probably already told the other two that he was at Lance's, which was fine. They knew him well enough that it wasn't a surprise.  
  
He grabbed one of the folded washcloths off the linen rack, got into the tub, ran the water until it was just on this side of too hot, and switched to the shower. It only took a few adjustments of the knob to get it to a pressure he liked, and he stood under it for a bit, letting himself relax under the heat.  
  
He found himself imagining Lance doing the same thing. He'd seen enough of his body that he could sort of fill in the rest. Lance stretching out and running his hands through his hair, showing off that taut belly and those defined abs. His pubes were probably well-trimmed. He was cut, of course - if he was brought up in a semi-religious household, anyway. Nicely sized, maybe a grower so it was nicer when he was hard. And he could imagine that ass, thanks to those shorts, with that sweet curve, and probably just as toned as the rest of him.  
  
Keith grabbed his already-hardening cock. Now he was imagining Lance in the shower with him - in front of him; braced against the wall, rising up on his toes at the perfect height for Keith to slide in. Keith started to stroke, imagining it. He'd probably be tight. Didn't Lance blush a little when Keith suggested an escort topping him? Virgin ass, maybe. Oh god, that was hot, and he stroked faster. Now he was imagining Lance moaning and pushing back against him, begging for more while Keith gripped his hips tight and bit marks into his shoulders. He was probably so _loud_ too, loud gasps and crying out and arching his back and-  
  
Keith was embarrassed at how fast he came and laughed it off while rinsing his hands under the water. He needed that clearly, and hopefully he'd calm down in more ways than one.  
  
Of course, he wouldn't really do a virgin in the shower, that was just silly. Hell, it was a mess trying to fuck Shiro in the shower, though they'd tried a few times. It sounded sexy, but execution was much harder. There was slipping, water flattening your hair, the water getting cold too soon, not to mention lube washing off too fast... Still, it was a nice enough fantasy, and he grinned, murmuring thanks to his host who unknowingly provided it.

He grabbed the washcloth, squirted some of the shower gel onto it and started scrubbing himself off. He noted the scent was just a hint of something fruity, not overly sweet, and pleasant. He tried not to laugh. He and Shiro just had bars of whatever was on sale at the store. Lance really did make an effort. The shampoo had the same scent, though stronger, and his hair felt a lot softer as he rinsed it out.  
  
He gave himself one more rinse all over, turned off the water, and grabbed the towel he'd put on the toilet lid to wrap around his waist and step out. He looked in the mirror and studied himself. His face was still a little flushed from masturbating, and his hair was plastered to his head.

His gaze stopped at the scar on his cheek, the one that the clone had given him. He'd gotten away from the war with just that scar - not counting the rest that peppered his body like all veterans had. Lance hadn't been so lucky with Allura's parting gift.  
  
No time to wonder about it. It was done, and Lance had to live with it now. Keith pulled the towel from his waist and brought it up to his head to dry his hair. When he was done, he ran his fingers through his hair a few times to remove the tangles. He never bothered styling it; it did what it wanted to.

"Mullet." He chuckled at that, remembering Lance teasing him about his hair. Lance had teased him a lot, come to think of it.  
  
Ah. Of course. All that teasing was his way of flirting when he was a teenager.  
  
If Lance talked to him that way now, he'd probably just pin him to a wall and kiss him until he was breathless. Lance wouldn't flirt that way anymore, of course. He'd moved past a teenage crush for sure.  
  
Keith checked the security of the towel, picked up his dirty clothes and his phone, and headed back out into the hall to go to his room. Lance's door was open, but he could see the master bathroom door was closed, so he continued to his room. He shut the door, dropped the towel, and picked up his bag to find something to wear. Normally, he slept naked, but he had thoughtfully brought a pair of boxers and a tank top to sleep in.

Once dressed, he hung up his two changes of clothes, tossed the bag onto the floor on top of his dirty clothes, and took the towel back to the guest bath to hang up on the rack.  
  
He heard the door open in Lance's room, and casually looked in.  
  
Lance was completely nude, drying his hair off and-  
  
Keith got a good look at his cock and noted at least one Altean mark high on his left inner thigh; there was probably a matching one on the right. He was cut and a little bigger than Keith initially thought, but maybe he was a shower, which was still hot and-  
  
He immediately went to the guest room before Lance could see him, and sat down on the edge of the bed and sent Shiro a quick text.  
  
`Just saw him naked.`  
  
Shiro responded nearly instantly. `Already got him stripping for you?`  
  
Keith chuckled quietly. `He was showering, guess he didn't think to shut his door when he came out to dry off. He's got a pretty cock, Shiro. And prettier ass.`  
  
He could imagine Shiro shaking his head and grinning. `Something for the spank bank. Maybe you need to take a shower too.`  
  
Keith could hear Lance moving around his room, and remained firmly seated on the guest bed. `I already took one. And I jerked off. Thought about fucking him while I did.`  
  
`Hopeless. If he doesn't want to, you know I'm ready and willing to meet you on my hands and knees when you get home.`  
  
Damn it, Shiro. Not that Keith had the snapback he did in his early twenties, but he did feel his cock stir just a _little_ at that. What a tease. `I found out some more stuff but I'll talk to you tomorrow about it. He goes to bed at 2200 and I don't wanna wake him up with our chatter. Tell Kosmo to get off the couch. Don't spoil him.`  
  
Shiro sent back a heart emoji which Keith _knew_ meant that Kosmo was going to be spoiled, and he'd probably hair up the bed, too.  
  
"Hey, Lance?" Keith called out.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"You okay if I go watch something?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll close my door."  
  
Keith got up and glanced into Lance's room again. Lance was dressed now, sitting on his bed and messing with his phone. "I'll get it," Keith offered. "I'll keep it low, too."  
  
"If you don't mind, open it back up when you go to bed?"  
  
"Yeah, sure," Keith agreed. "Well, good night, Lance."  
  
"Night," Lance said.  
  
Keith shut the door behind him. His first stop was the bathroom; here he took a photo of the medicine cabinet, turned all the bottles so the labels were facing out, took another photo, and then turned them back to their approximate positions with his first photo as a guide.

Next, he headed to the living room, snapping on the light and turning on the TV. Keith located that streaming service Lance had been struggling with earlier and tuned to a show that he and Shiro rewatched regularly without really paying attention to it. He just wanted the background noise; it helped him think better.   
  
He deleted the first photo, and looked at the second, zooming in to read the descriptions.

_For pain. For spasms. For seizures. As needed. For muscle tightness. As needed. Immunosuppressant. Anticoagulant. As needed. As needed._

Quite a number of the medications were as needed; these he looked up in his phone browser. Those were stronger, potentially addicting painkillers; that one was a sleep aid. This one was an antidepressant, and that one was for nausea.  
  
 _Could Lance not just get this all treated?_ Of course not. If that was the case, he wouldn't need all this stuff.  
  
He reread some of the descriptions. Lance had to be in excruciating pain at times; just looking at the list, it couldn't be anything else. That would explain a lot. All those pills and the Olkari routine - probably for pain management as well as exercise. Heat would help with pain, and the less precipitation, the better. Keith had been reading way too much into it. Maybe that's why Keith thought he was miserable. They'd gone to some really cold places in March for their meetups; Lance was probably a ball of aches and pains the whole time.  
  
 _But it's no big deal._  
  
He turned his attention to the TV and realized the service was asking him if he was still watching his show. He signed out and turned off the TV. He'd left the guest room light on, so he could navigate well enough after turning off the living room light. Hopefully, it wouldn't wake Lance up.  
  
He opened Lance's door and glanced in at him. He was already dead to the world. Keith wondered if that cocktail he took had anything to do with it. It probably did. As he turned to go, he heard a soft sound and paused. He saw Lance's mouth open and his brows furrow as he made that almost inaudible noise again.  
  
Keith's brows furrowed, and he turned away to go to his room. _Pain, even with all those drugs?_ He resisted the urge to bang his fist against a wall. Instead, he crawled into bed. Despite his brain going a mile a minute, he was asleep in under five.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith makes breakfast, Lance finally realizes Keith may be flirting with him, does some of his own musing, and also some yardwork because I love domestic bliss.

Instead of his alarm clock, Lance heard Keith bellow 'turn that fucking thing off!' from across the hall.  
  
 _Right, Keith is here_.

Lance tried not to laugh and decided to let the soft alarm get louder before he turned it off. Of all the paladins to come visit him, he still couldn't figure out why Keith was the first one there, not that he minded him visiting. He should've taken him to one of the other guest rooms, like when his family visited further down the hall, but he figured Keith would appreciate the nicest room.  
  
"Lance!" Keith yelled. "Turn that thing off already!"  
  
Lance grinned again and pretended he was still asleep. He heard Keith kick off covers, get up, and stomp across the hall, grab his phone and turn off the alarm.  
  
"I see you grinning, you ass," Keith snapped. "You're awake."  
  
"Morning, sunshine," Lance said, opening his eyes but not getting up yet. "Too early for you? I'd think you and Shiro would be a super disciplined household."  
  
"We are, but that's just for the bedroom," Keith said with a sly grin.  
  
Lance's eyes widened a little. "Good information I didn't need to know," he said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "You can, uh, go back to bed now."  
  
"I'm awake now," Keith said, though he did move aside while Lance got up. Lance headed to his bathroom to start his routine, but it felt a little off with Keith there. Thankfully, Keith wasn't doing that weird staring thing and had left to go do whatever. Lance commenced his usual routine with additional shaving. By the time he got to the kitchen, Keith was already brewing coffee.  
  
"You don't have to do that."  
  
Keith was going through the fridge. "I know. How do you like omelets?"  
  
"You don't have to do that either," Lance said, opening one of the cabinets to get out a mug.  
  
"I know," Keith repeated, exasperated. "Looks like you like cheese if what I saw in the fridge is anything to go by. Anything else?"  
  
"Peppers, they're in the crisper," Lance said, just going along with it. "Bowls are- you found them, never mind." He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table while Keith started to chop up peppers.  
  
This was so unbelievably domestic and normal and beyond bizarre. Lance absently pinched his thigh to make sure he was awake. Yep, he was.  
  
It was sexy, too. Lance blinked in surprise at himself. Keith had been flirty, or his version of it yesterday, and Keith _was_ sexy. And married. Very, very, married. Lance told himself that a few more times, just for good measure.  
  
"You drink coffee black?" Keith asked, as he dumped the diced peppers into a bowl and started cracking eggs.  
  
"Yeah, always have."  
  
Keith whisked the eggs. "You seem like a cream and sugar kind of guy."  
  
"I'm sweet enough already," Lance said with a grin.  
  
Keith snorted, though his expression softened a little. "Actually, you are. I bully my way into your house, get all aggressive on you, and you offer a room and buy me dinner."  
  
"That's how all my dates go."  
  
Keith raised a brow as he went back to the fridge to get the shredded cheese. "Offer to get you laid is still on the table."  
  
Lance laughed. "You really think I'm suffering in that department, don't you? I'm fine, Keith."  
  
"I don't know if you are or not. So you only do one night stands. How about I give you a one night stand?"  
  
Lance was in the middle of sipping his coffee and he promptly snorted it and swore. "Oww, hot." He started mopping it up with a napkin. "Really, I am _fine._ On a more serious note, are you satisfied now? I moved for health reasons. Good enough?"  
  
Keith poured the mix of eggs, cheese, and peppers into the skillet. "Yeah, I guess so."  
  
"So do I need to give you a ride to the spaceport today?"  
  
Keith concentrated on cooking, shaking his head. "No, I'm staying until we go to Rockport. I've got my ticket already. Thanks for your hospitality."  
  
So Lance had to deal with him another day. He didn't have anything in mind as far as entertainment went. He wasn't sure what Keith had in mind either, besides wearing him down to get him to admit why he moved. And apparently joke about getting him laid.

He had no idea where any of that was coming from. He _knew_ Keith was attracted to exactly one person in the universe, and he was married to him. Maybe it was his way of trying to tease Lance. Keith _was_ kind of bad at teasing when he was trying. He was funnier when it wasn't intentional, or he could go off of a setup. Not that Keith would know, but the problem with the joking about that was it was making Lance think of things that he didn't allow himself to think about.  
  
 _MARRIED._ That was enough to get him to focus on his coffee and think it was just an elaborate joke.  
  
He'd blame Pidge. She thought it was a hoot to rile people up; she probably suggested it since every time she saw Lance, she asked if there was someone special in his life. Of all people, why Pidge was so worried about that, though...  
  
Keith expertly folded the omelet and plated it before Lance realized it was being put in front of him. "Eat it while it's hot," Keith said, starting up on a second.  
  
"Thanks, Keith," Lance said. It wasn't exactly a pretty omelet, but when he took a bite, it was delicious. Just like when Pop-Pop cooked. His food looked like - as Marco eloquently put it - a pile of steaming garbage, but it was (almost) better than mom's cooking. (Not that they would ever tell her that.) "Really good!"  
  
Keith flipped his own omelet onto a plate and turned off the stovetop, moving the skillet away from the heat. "You sound surprised." He loaded himself up with his coffee and food, sat down across from Lance at the circular table, and proceeded to dump an inordinate amount of sugar into his coffee and stirred it.  
  
Lance ignored this and took another bite. "I didn't really think of you as a cook."  
  
"When the mood strikes. Shiro cooks more than I do," Keith said, also taking a bite. He washed it down with a sip of coffee. "But since you're letting me stay here for free, I figured I may as well earn my keep."  
  
Lance took another sip of coffee and another bite of omelet. "You don't have to earn your keep. You're family. No strings attached. Visit anytime you want. Unless you guys changed the rules and forgot to tell me about it?"  
  
Keith shook his head. "No. How about to make up for manhandling you?"  
  
Lance chuckled softly. "If you want." He polished off the rest of the omelet and downed his coffee. "Gotta go drug myself up." Since Keith knew, there was no point in dancing around it anymore. Lance might as well add it to the repertoire of jokes.  
  
"You need help?" Keith asked without thinking. "Uh. I mean. Never mind. Sure." He shoved a rather too large bite of omelet into his mouth.  
  
Lance chuckled again and picked up his dishes to deposit in the sink. "Thanks, I'm good. I'm a pro at swallowing." Okay, that _was_ deliberate, and Lance didn't think Keith would take the bait. He was positively gleeful when Keith's eyes widened, though he tried not to let it show. "Be back in a bit."  
  
Keith watched Lance walk down the hall again. _First: he's shirtless, that's already fighting dirty. Second: holy shit, Lance._  
  
So what started as a visit to find out why Lance moved was turning into how much sexual tension could get generated before one of them burst. Shit, and Keith was also supposed to figure out what Lance wanted to do for his birthday. Yeah, it was supposed to be a surprise, but even he knew that laser tag and cheesecake wasn't going to cut it.  
  
His phone was in the bedroom, so he couldn't send Shiro a quick text about it. Instead, he busied himself with finishing his food a bit faster than he would've liked, and downed his coffee. He got up to put his dishes in the sink and headed to the bedroom to get dressed.  
  
Lance had closed his door. Damn. Well, he would too, just for privacy's sake, and take a moment to text Shiro. Shiro probably wasn't awake yet. In their semi-retirement, he and Shiro woke up fairly late and went to bed late. It worked out for them. Shiro usually woke up a little before him but was content to cuddle until Keith woke up.  
  
`Found out why he moved. Still haven't quite figured out what to do for his birthday yet. Am now confused if he wants to fuck or not.`  
  
He didn't expect a response. Shiro slept like the dead. `I won't ask, because you'd offer details if it was shareworthy. No rush on the birthday thing, we've got time to figure it out.`  
  
The texting stopped there, and Keith was about to put his phone to the side and get dressed when there was another buzz.  
  
`Gonna say again that if he wants to, you know it's fine. But I'll also say that you don't *have* to sleep with him. It's not why you went.`  
  
Keith grinned to himself. `No, but he said he was a pro at swallowing.`  
  
There was quite a pause before Shiro's next text showed up. `That is a ridiculously hot mental image.`  
  
Shiro had such a vivid imagination. Not that Keith didn't, but he also didn't want to walk around all day half hard. `I'll call you later if I get a chance to be alone. Tell Kosmo to get off the bed.`  
  
The response was a selfie with Kosmo clearly asleep and drooling on Keith's pillow next to a grinning Shiro. "Damn it, I just washed the sheets on Sunday," Keith said aloud, trying not to grin because it _was_ a cute picture.  
  
That was enough of that. He got up, dressed, and headed to the guest bathroom to brush his teeth, comb his hair and pull it back so it wasn't sticking to his neck all day. Lance's room was open again, but he wasn't there. He heard the sliding glass door open and close and figured he was going outside before it got too hot.  
  
He'd back off of the teasing for now. Maybe Lance was just playing along.  
  
Keith knew he wanted him. Had, since that black-tie event, years ago. Maybe before.  
  
He still teased Shiro about it, but he had to admit that _he_ wouldn't have minded dancing with Lance, not that he knew how to dance very well. At first, he berated himself for it. If there was one thing he prided himself on, it was not being distracted by looks. Granted, Shiro was an incredibly sexy man, but to Keith, that was just a bonus. He would love Shiro no matter what he looked like. He could appreciate attractive people. So he told himself it was that. Lance was attractive. That was fine, he could say that and admit to it and that was that.  
  
With Lance, it had to just be his physical looks, right? There was nothing wrong with that. Shiro had no problem saying he wanted to do someone just based on looks, and he did, too, if the guy showed interest back. Sure, Keith saw Lance as someone he wanted to do just because he looked good. They both did, right? All those conversations until two or three in the morning, where he and Shiro both admitted that they wanted Lance too. But they'd never act on it unless Lance initiated it. Besides, it was just looks, right? Not like Keith didn't watch Lance would chew his lower lip when he was concentrating on something. Or the muscles in his neck when he tilted his head back, when he flexed his arms or-  
  
But there was also everything they'd gone through, and Keith wasn't able to separate that. Lance was barely eighteen near the end, and yet he had proved again and again that he was loyal and absolutely reliable no matter what the odds. Even if Keith didn't want to admit it, that added a whole lot to the attraction.  
  
Keith was confusing himself. He stirred out of his train of thought as he heard the sliding glass door open and close again. He realized he was still holding his toothbrush. He rinsed it off and walked out of the bathroom. Keith found Lance in the kitchen filling up a water bottle, with a pair of sunglasses pushed up on his forehead."  
  
"Doing some yard work?" Keith asked.  
  
"Nah, not yet. I need to pull up one of my irrigation lines and move it. It can wait if there's something else you'd rather do."  
  
"I'll help," Keith said. "Got another water bottle?"  
  
"Yep," Lance screwed the lid on the one he just filled and grabbed another one from the cabinet above the sink, filling it. "Take a drink every few minutes, your sweat will evaporate before you notice," Lance said seriously, handing the bottle to Keith. "I'm doing this now before it gets too hot, but it can take a while. It's really rough out there if you're not used to this weather. You need some sunglasses?"

"No problem. I have some in my bag," Keith said. Fortunately, jeans and a t-shirt were fine for yard work, which is what Lance was wearing anyway. He didn't have enough changes of clothes for tomorrow if he became sweaty, but Lance said the washer was at his disposal, so he'd probably make use of it later. He went to go fetch the sunglasses and came back in record time. "Ready."  
  
"Let's make the most of the morning, then," Lance said. Keith nodded and followed him outside.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance do yard work, there's more jerking off in the shower, and domestic fluff (grocery shopping.) And they finally get real with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks to my [waifu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anriko) for the edits.

They were only halfway through moving the irrigation line when Lance dropped it suddenly.  
  
"Keith, go inside," Lance said so firmly that Keith knew not to protest. "Drink whatever's left of your water, and then fill it up again. And sit down. I'll be back in a few."  
  
"All right," Keith said and did, though he did chance a few glances back as he went inside. As soon as he sat down at the table with his second bottle of water, he felt vaguely dizzy.

He watched Lance through the sliding glass door as he continued to move the irrigation line, one foot at a time. Lance headed back to the house after about fifteen more feet of work, and Keith finished his second bottle by the time he came in. He watched as Lance pushed his sunglasses back up and studied Keith's face. "What?"  
  
"Just making sure," Lance said with a nod. He went to the pantry and pulled out a bag of something and pulled off the clip, bringing it to the table. "Pretzels; eat a few of those, but not too many," Lance said. He downed the rest of his water and went to the sink to fill it up again. "Replaces the salts you sweated out."  
  
"I don't even feel like I have pit stains," Keith said, but he took a pretzel and started eating it.  
  
"The dangers of desert living," Lance said with a grin as he sat down at the table across from Keith. "Thankfully, my second week here, Coran came to stay with me and he got to call 911 for the first time ever because I got dehydrated. He kept screaming at the phone like they couldn't hear him."  
  
Keith laughed at the mental image of Coran calling anyone on a phone and then realized...even _Coran_ had visited Lance in his new place. "Coran visited, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, he likes to come every few weeks or so. Doesn't he visit you?"  
  
"Sure he does," Keith said, frowning as he ate another pretzel. "I guess I just feel...dumb. For not visiting when you first moved out here."  
  
"No need to," Lance said lightly. "Though I did kind of wonder if some rule had changed, and I missed it because I was in the middle of owning all of you in laser tag."  
  
"You have an unfair advantage, Mr. Sharpshooter," Keith said remembering to drink his water. "But we wouldn't do that to you. Just...not being particularly thoughtful, I guess."  
  
Lance got a pretzel from the bag. "Well, I'll remind all of you tomorrow that you can come see me anytime." He popped it into his mouth, but he didn't crunch down on it. It took Keith a moment to recognize a vaguely lewd noise that-  
  
Keith snorted. "Are you sucking the salt off of it?"  
  
At least Lance crunched down and swallowed it before answering. "Yeah, I know, it's gross. _Mira tus modales delante de tu invitado, hijo._ " He grinned. "My mom would get on me about that. Kinda forget things like that when you live by yourself."  
  
"I understood most of that." Keith was smiling. "Your family still speaks the old languages too, huh? So does Shiro's."  
  
"Yeah," Lance said, and he had another pretzel, thankfully without making lewd distracting noises this time. "Very important to parents, and grandparents...and you get it. Luis and Lisa brought my niece and nephew up bilingual, too. It seems kind of silly to speak an almost dead language, but I think it's important that Terrans don't forget our history."  
  
"Or else we may be doomed to repeat it."  
  
Lance gave Keith a look. "Well, I meant like, honoring our ancestors that way, but sure, we can go with that grim lesson too."  
  
"I didn't mean it to be grim," Keith admitted. "Have I had enough pretzels?"  
  
"Yeah, you're good." Lance had one more and finished off his water. "So...uh, you may have noticed you used up all my eggs and peppers and cheese this morning. I really need to go grocery shopping, but we can go out for whatever. You probably eat lunch, don't you?"  
  
Keith's expression was blank. "Doesn't everyone?"  
  
"Nah, I really don't. I eat a big breakfast. Then a big dinner. I drink a lot of water during the day and I don't get super hungry really until around six. But I know most people do."  
  
"I'm fine if you wanna go grocery shopping. You shouldn't spend money like you did last night every time we eat while I'm here."  
  
"You sure? I mean, I don't mind. I'm not gonna go broke if we do that, you know," Lance said, not sure who he was trying to reassure here.  
  
"I'll come with you."  
  
Lance stared at Keith. "What."  
  
Keith grabbed the pretzel bag from Lance, folded the top neatly, and clipped it. "You heard me. I'll come with you."  
  
"Grocery shopping?" Lance snorted as Keith got up to put the pretzels away. "My house must be boring."  
  
"It's not," Keith said, shutting the pantry door. "I just wanna go with you, is that weird? We probably should both shower before we go out in public, though."  
  
"Weirdest thing I've ever heard," Lance said, getting up and collecting the water bottles. "Fine, you can come with. If you need to use the washer later-"  
  
"Yeah, I will."  
  
Keith went off to take his shower and change. Lance cleaned up a bit first. He briefly entertained the idea of being a total shit and bursting in on Keith while he was showering, but with all the weirdness that Lance _supposed_ might be flirting, he didn't wanna risk anything. Also, he had to remind himself that Keith was _MARRIED._

Keith was going to the grocery store with him. That was almost as bizarre as doing yard work together. What was this, some visual novel with a domestic bliss path?

Lance grabbed his clothes before heading into the master bath and shut the door. He had forgotten to last night, though thankfully Keith was in his bedroom at the time. Lance had to remember there was a guest; Keith hadn't said anything, and he was so used to leaving all the doors open that it just slipped his mind.  
  
He was about to start his shower when he swore he heard his name. The guest bath and his bathroom were right next to each other. Was Keith calling him? He put an ear to the cold tile of the wall and listened. "Keith?" he said, not too loudly in case he'd merely misheard. Over the sound of the water rushing through the pipes and water hitting the porcelain of the tub, it was almost impossible to hear clearly, but-  
  
"Lance, fuck. _Lance._ " It took Lance a second to decipher the words. That tone of voice was definitely _not_ Keith calling to him.

Was Keith jerking off in the shower? To _him?_

Lance felt his face get hot and kept his ear pressed to the wall. It took him some time to parse what he heard, but basically-  
  
"Your mouth is so hot, Lance. _Fuck_ , Lance. I'm so close, baby. I'm almost there-"  
  
Lance immediately pulled away from the wall as he heard that part, not sure if he wanted to hear Keith to completion, and realized he was at least half hard from hearing it.  
  
Whoa. It wasn't _unwanted_ , but it was certainly _unexpected_. _Damn_. Being Keith's spank bank fodder? From what it sounded like, he was imagining Lance blowing him.  
  
"Real thing would blow your fantasy out of the water, pun intended," Lance said, pulling the glass closed on his shower and turning on the water.  
  
Lance was a little out of practice fantasizing. He didn't know exactly what Keith looked like naked, but he could try to fill in the blanks. What would he and Keith be doing? Well, if he just blew Keith, maybe Keith would jerk him off, or blow him too. It was harder to imagine Keith's mouth since he didn't get blowjobs too often. Jerking off it would be.  
  
That would work. Lance closed his eyes and tried to imagine. He was rusty, but once he started by imagining Keith coming up behind him in the shower, taking his cock in hand and squeezing, it came back to him. Started to stroke slowly, keeping his hand tight, and getting a little faster with each stroke. He imagined Keith pulling Lance back against him as he stroked, kissing his neck, his ear. "I'm getting close," Lance breathed, almost inaudible, biting down on his lower lip. "Keith, please-"  
  
He could almost feel Keith's breath against his neck, maybe just a hint of teeth... Lance was stroking faster, faster, trying desperately to finish before he was in here for too long. What would tip him over that point?  
  
If only he'd _bite._ Would Keith bite? Yeah, he probably was a biter. Not that he could feel that, but just to imagine it, Keith sinking his teeth into his skin, hard, harder, just enough to draw blood-

Lance gave a shuddering gasp as he came.  
  
Yeah, he was rusty as hell with fantasizing, but that he came from it was good enough. He rinsed off his hand and his dick under the spray and grabbed a washcloth.  
  
He dried and dressed in record time after his shower. Keith was sitting on the couch, on the phone with Shiro when Lance came out.  
  
"-grocery shopping in a few," Keith said. There was a pause and a snort. "Put it on the list. I'll go when I get home." Lance kept quiet while he waited for Keith to finish.  
  
Keith noticed, and looked at him, mouthing 'one sec.' Lance nodded.  
  
"I jerked off to him in the shower again," Keith said, staring straight at Lance. "It's getting rough here, Shiro. I dunno how much longer I'm gonna last without either making a move or checking into a hotel."  
  
Lance's mouth dropped open and Keith's grin was downright evil. He put Shiro on speaker without warning.  
  
"You're hopeless," Shiro said, laughing. "I'm sure you'll be fine. Maybe he'll jump you first and you can stop bothering me about it already."  
  
Lance squeaked. Shiro, happily _married_ Shiro, laughing, not at all bothered by the implications-

"Yeah, maybe. Anyway, sounds like he's coming from his shower now. I better get ready to go be domestic. Love you," Keith said, still grinning wickedly.  
  
"Tell him I said hi. And I just want you to know, I also used him as spank bank material earlier. You're a terrible influence."  
  
"What was he doing?" Keith was clearly having fun.  
  
"Riding me, reverse cowboy," Shiro sounded almost shy. "Anyway. Love you. Have fun shopping."  
  
Lance squeaked again, his face getting hot again. Okay, Keith was bad enough, but Shiro too? Shiro - happily-married-to-Keith-Shiro - _also_ used Lance as masturbation fodder? Lance felt like he was on Bob's show again.  
  
 _What. The. Hell._  
  
"Love you. Talk to you later." Keith pocketed his phone. "Hey, Lance. Shiro says hi. Ready to go to the grocery store?"  
  
"I-" Lance blanked out for a moment. "What?"  
  
"Grocery store?" Keith got up. "I'm hungry, and you don't have anything for lunch? That? Remember?"  
  
"Wh-"  
  
"Food, Lance. I'm _hungry._ Do you have a list? I'm sure I can find the store with GPS and pick up what you need without you."  
  
"N-no," Lance said, taking a step back and forcing himself to breathe at a normal rate. "Let me just...absorb all that for a moment, okay? Holy quiznak."  
  
"Sure," Keith said, still grinning. "By the way, my husband and I both want to bang you. Since you shared some personal stuff with me, I figured I should share with you."  
  
" _Fuck,_ Keith! I said let me absorb that. Let's just go to the store, I can't process this right now. I do all my shopping by memory, let's hope I don't forget anything."  
  
Keith cheerfully followed Lance out to the car.  
  
Neither of them said anything as Lance pulled out of his driveway and onto the main road.  
  
Neither of them said anything when Lance pulled into the parking lot.  
  
At the store, they kept it almost painfully domestic. Including Lance snapping at Keith when he tried to swap out a cut of steak with a much more expensive cut. "Uh, excuse me, these are _my_ groceries, Keith. I'm not getting a porterhouse. Sirloin is fine."  
  
"You get more out of a porterhouse," Keith argued. "Sirloin has next to no marbling, and less flavor."  
  
"I'm the one who's gonna be eating it," Lance said, scowling.  
  
"Which is why you should get the better cut. Better for _you._ "  
  
Lance was about to let Keith know what he thought of that when a little old lady nearby started chuckling. "Just like me and my Ted," she said, mostly to herself. "Oh, to be young again." She looked at them with a kindly smile. "Your husband is right, young man, the porterhouse will give you a lot more for the price."  
  
Both of them exchanged looks. Lance rolled his eyes, and Keith grinned. Before Lance could tell her Keith wasn't his husband, she had wandered away to talk to the butcher about getting some beef ground up.  
  
There were only a few other minor snarks throughout the store, though Lance had to admit, it was just Keith trying to get him to eat better. It wasn't the same as eating on the farm, where everything was fresh.  
  
"You might not need that anticoagulant if you ate less sodium," Keith said, removing a can of chicken broth from the cart. "Make your own in the crockpot instead."  
  
"I don't have a crockpot," Lance said, leaning heavily on the cart and sighing loudly.  
  
"Then I'll get you one as a housewarming gift," Keith said, looking through the various chicken stocks available. "In the meantime, use this. Low sodium, and it'll still cook the same way."  
  
"Fiiiiiine," Lance said, pressing his forehead to the cart handle. "I eat a lot better when I go back home."  
  
"I know, but you gotta eat well when you're in your desert home, too." Keith was touching his back. "Let's go, not much more from what you said."  
  
Lance still hadn't processed the conversation from before the food run. Not that it mattered much, Keith seemed to be keeping it painfully civil, as he helped unload groceries and put them away. Then he made himself a sandwich while Lance.exe crashed again, waiting for him to reboot and see what he had to say about it all.  
  
He sat on the couch, leaning over the back of it and staring at Keith while he ate. "You. And Shiro. Both. Want. Me."  
  
Keith took another bite of the BLT he'd made. "Mmmhmm."  
  
"Both married, but me. Is also someone. You want."  
  
Keith tried not to laugh at Lance. Maybe that was a little too much all at once. Maybe. "Being married doesn't have anything to do with our desires for other people."  
  
"Oh." Lance nodded. "Okay. Well, I mean, if it gets you off, I'm not gonna complain. Very flattering. You don't have to tell me about it, though."  
  
Keith polished off his sandwich. "But we act on those desires. I guess you'd call it an open relationship."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Keith chuckled and drank some water. "Yeah, I actually set Shiro up on dates sometimes. It's fun."  
  
"Okay," Lance said, as though he wasn't sure it was. "So you like to find guys and bring them home?"  
  
"Well, no," Keith admitted. "We usually don't go after the same guy."  
  
"Oh." Lance still looked like he wasn't quite grasping all this. "I mean, I'm fine with one night stands, but it might a little weird with you guys."  
  
"Might be," Keith agreed. "I don't do one night stands, anyway."  
  
"So you date whoever you find for a while," Lance clarified.  
  
"No, I've never been interested in anyone else. You're the only other one besides Shiro."  
  
Lance turned a little pink at that, clearly flattered. "That was only seventeen years too late."  
  
"I didn't know what I wanted back then," Keith said with a grin.  
  
"Yeah, you were pretty clear about what you didn't want," Lance joked. "'Even if you _were_ the last person on earth, I'd still go out with a dog before you.'" He did a fair impression of a young Keith.  
  
"That was so cruel of me," Keith laughed. "I _am_ actually sorry about that, I didn't mean that."  
  
"I'm over it," Lance said, waving a hand. "You were an angry guy back then, I should be grateful you didn't deck me."  
  
"That was later," Keith said.  
  
"I fought back, though."  
  
"Yeah," Keith got up to dump his dishes in the sink. "So, what do you think? If it's not something you want, just say so. I promise nothing will change between us."  
  
"Huh? Why wouldn't it be something I want?" Lance asked, sounding confused.  
  
Keith rinsed off his dishes and started loading them in the dishwasher. "You need to make this really clear to me, Lance. Because I don't do well with this stuff."  
  
"I will be, I promise," Lance said seriously. "But you also need to tell me what exactly it is you want from me. I'll give you some examples. Do you want to fuck? I'm fine with that, as long as it doesn't mess anything up with you and Shiro. If you want it to be a regular thing, like, once a week, or something, I'm fine with that too. Sex isn't...I mean, of course it's a thing, but for me, it's not a big deal. If that makes sense?"  
  
"That's good," Keith said. "I'll reiterate, it won't mess up anything with Shiro. The most important thing you need to know - and this is something Shiro and I established together, and I probably already fucked it up - you have to explicitly show interest in one of us. Understood?"  
  
Hearing it broken down like that hit Lance harder than all the flirting, even harder than his sudden burst of hormones. Keith wanted him. Shiro wanted him. In a sexual way. They were married, but they were okay with that. Was Lance okay with that?  
  
Yes. Yes, he was very okay with that. Shit, didn't he have wet dreams about Shiro when they were on the castle ship? And didn't he flirt with Keith (until it was loud and clear that Keith wasn't interested?)

Except Keith _was_ interested. Well, he was _now._ And he was standing there in the kitchen, doing dishes like he lived there.  
  
This was too sudden. Lance thought he should wait for his head and his cock to cool off before making any hasty decisions. This was something they should talk about first -all _three_ of them. Really, this was no time to act on what his body wanted.  
  
 _Explicitly show interest._  
  
Lance's body was ignoring everything in his head, as he got up off the couch.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith finally fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to my [waifu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anriko) for proofing my smut~

Lance wordlessly got up off the couch and met Keith in the kitchen; he leaned over and kissed Keith somewhat chastely, wondering if it was enough.  
  
He didn't have long to wonder, because Keith pulled Lance to him as he leaned against the counter, and kissing him back. It took Lance's brain a second to catch up, but he reciprocated easily enough, sliding his tongue into Keith's mouth. He reached up to get his fingers in Keith's thick black hair so he could comb his fingers through it and worked his way down to his neck and shoulders, touching lightly, squeezing, getting his thumbs beneath the collar of his shirt-  
  
Keith wasn't going nearly so slowly. His hands were at Lance's waist and he was sliding them just beneath the waistband of his jeans. Then slipping his fingers under his boxers, touching skin and pulling him closer. He slid his leg between Lance's, rubbing his thigh against Lance's crotch, kissing Lance like he was air and Keith was desperate for breath.  
  
Lance moaned almost inaudibly into Keith's mouth. Keith pulled away from the kisses so he could undo Lance's jeans, while Lance licked his lips and tried to do the same to Keith.  
  
"No," Keith said, batting his hand away. "You don't get to touch."  
  
Lance pulled away slightly as Keith finished unzipping his pants. "Huh?"  
  
" _I'm_ in charge, I tell you what to do," Keith said, with a hint of a growl in his voice. "Understood?"  
  
That was unexpectedly hot. Lance was fairly vanilla in all his escapades, maybe occasionally wearing a collar for fun, but it was never serious. No one had ever really been In Charge before. He realized he was grinning. "Yessir."  
  
"Good," Keith finished undoing Lance's pants and slid a hand inside, cupping his cock through the fabric of his boxers. Lance was suddenly glad he had his arms resting on Keith's shoulders as Keith squeezed him gently. He gave another one of those almost inaudible moans as he grew stiffer in Keith's hand. "You don't have to hold back."  
  
"I'm not," Lance said, gasping again as Keith squeezed his cock a little tighter.  
  
"Sure?" Keith said, leaning forward and mouthing Lance's neck. "You're really not loud?"  
  
"N-not so far," Lance said, tilting his head a little for Keith and grinding against his hand.  
  
"I said I'm in charge, Lance," Keith murmured, grazing his teeth along Lance's skin. "Do I need to explain that?"  
  
Lance bit his lip, afraid Keith would stop what he was doing. "I understand." His voice hitched as Keith thumbed the slit of his cock.  
  
"Not here, then," Keith said, enjoying Lance's look of disappointment as he straightened up and took his hand out of Lance's pants. "You okay with your bed, or-"  
  
"Of course," Lance said quickly.  
  
Not that he expected Keith to pick him up and carry him there bridal-style. It made Lance laugh and cover his face and forget about his erection for a little bit until they were in the bedroom. "Get undressed," Keith ordered, dark eyes gazing intently at Lance. Once Lance had finished undressing, Keith studied him. "Let me look at you."  
  
This made Lance feel embarrassed...or maybe that wasn't the right word; exposed maybe. _I mean, I am naked,_ Lance thought. _Can't get much more exposed than that._

But he let Keith look, and touch. Keith touched him everywhere, not in a particularly erotic way, but intimate. His fingers lingered over the marks in the hollows of his collarbones, the three along the sides of his ribs, the ones on his hipbones. He stopped at the ones on his hips, avoiding touching Lance's cock as he looked at the ones on his inner thighs. "You have a pretty cock, you know. Turn around," Keith said. Lance did, crossing his arms over his chest subconsciously while Keith touched the marks that made a path down his spine from between his shoulder blades to the hollow of his back. "Beautiful ass," Keith murmured. "Look at me again."  
  
Lance turned back around, and Keith gently pulled at his arms to uncross them and took Lance's hands in his own, thumbs stroking over his wrists. "You weren't afraid of me when I lost control yesterday," Keith said, his eyes locking onto Lance's again.  
  
"No," Lance answered simply.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I know you won't hurt me."  
  
Keith noted the lack of hesitation; Lance really believed that. "You've never seen me when I fully lose control, though."  
  
"Maybe not," Lance said. "But I still know you wouldn't hurt me."  
  
"Let's hope you never see me that way because I'm going to do everything in my power to not break that trust," Keith's voice was low. "The other thing. Because of that, I need to control this type of thing. Do you understand that?"  
  
Lance did, now that there was context. "Yeah, Keith," he said, voice soft. "You tell me however you need me to be, I'll do it."  
  
Keith was unexpectedly touched by this. He was sure Lance would be exasperated and ask if they could just get on with the sex. But here was a man who subsided off of one-night stands and no morning afters. He didn't have to know Lance's other partners to know that this wasn't the norm.

"Good." His tone changed a little, more commanding, more like Lance remembered when he was leading them in Voltron.

It was _thrilling_. Lance couldn't help the way his cock jumped a little at the way he said "good."  
  
Keith noticed and smirked. "You are not to touch yourself, or me, unless I explicitly tell you to do so. You won't have to guess at anything. I'll always be very clear in my instructions. You just have to obey them."  
  
The word "obey" had a heady effect on Lance; precome dribbled down the length of his cock as it twitched again. "Keith smiled and casually shed his clothes onto the floor, next to Lance's. "Is there anything you will not or can not do? They're the same to me," Keith asked seriously.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Like, oral, or you only top, or rimming, spanking, that sort of thing."  
  
"No watersports or scat," Lance said. "All the regular stuff, it's fine. I've uh, never been spanked or been rimmed or rimmed anyone so I couldn't say for that. I'm versatile."  
  
Keith nodded. "I'll continue asking anyway, but my constant rule applies. Don't touch yourself or me unless I say so."  
  
"Understood." Lance reached down to palm the base of his cock.  
  
"What did I _just_ say?" Keith swatted Lance's away. "Don't touch."  
  
Lance bit his lower lip, clearly desperate. "Sorry."  
  
"Don't apologize for it, just correct yourself," Keith said, leaning over to kiss him. Hard. Deep, invasive, commanding, and Lance backed up slightly, grabbing at the bed. He obviously wanted to touch Keith, because he didn't seem to know what to do with his hands. Keith pulled away from the kiss and caught Lance's chin in his hand. "Lube? Condoms?"  
  
"Bedside drawer," Lance said, zeroing in on Keith's cock and staring at it longingly. "I don't know if they'll fit you though."  
  
Keith would try to make do with what was available. The mood started to evaporate quickly when the second condom broke on Keith and he uttered a string of curses. He hadn't brought any because he and Shiro didn't use them. "...fuck."  
  
"I'm okay barebacking," Lance said. "I mean if you're-"  
  
Keith silenced him with a kiss. "That's not what I'm worried about; the mess."  
  
"Don't worry, everything I own is washable for a reason," Lance said.  
  
That was good enough for Keith. "I'll pull out," he said, reaching over to the drawer to get the lube out. "How much do you need?"  
  
"Two fingers should be enough," Lance sounded breathless; the mood was definitely back. Keith got up off the bed, uncapped the lube, and poured a generous amount on his hand. If Lance said everything was washable, he wouldn't mind if it got on the covers.  
  
"Lie down face down, ass up," Keith said. Lance did so willingly, spreading his legs obscenely. Keith grinned at that. He was careful not to handle Lance's cock or balls just yet, sliding one finger into him as he squeezed his ass with the other hand. "Fuck, you're gorgeous."  
  
Lance, clearly not used to praise, gave a muffled laugh into the covers. "Don't say that."  
  
"Why not? I mean it," Keith said as he slid his finger deeper until he couldn't anymore. He pressed knowingly against that little hard bundle of nerves and Lance gave a guttural moan in response, clenching around Keith's finger. "Right there," Keith purred.  
  
Lance moaned into the covers, only remembering just in time not to push back against Keith. "More," he pleaded quietly. "Please."  
  
Keith chuckled, pulling his finger out and grinning at Lance's little sound of dismay. "So polite. More?"  
  
"More."  
  
Keith slid his finger back into Lance, adding a second and scissoring them inside of him as Lance continued to make those pretty sounds into the covers. Precome formed a nice wet spot beneath him. Keith's cock was already hard, and more than ready to fuck Lance into oblivion. Not that he'd go that hard, not this time, anyway.  
  
Lance said he only needed two. Keith would see about that. He teased Lance by just barely brushing his prostate with his fingers, continuing to stretch him as much as he could with two fingers pulling out finally. "Turn over and spread your legs for me," Keith said, grabbing the lube off the bedside table.  
  
"W- okay," Lance said, confusion in his voice, but he did so, his ass almost hanging off the edge of the bed.  
  
"You don't get to hide from me when I fuck you," Keith said, stroking his cock and getting it slick with lube. "I'm gonna watch your face when you come."  
  
Lance gnawed his bottom lip again, reaching down to hook his arms around his thighs, impressing Keith with his flexibility. Definitely useful in the bedroom.  
  
Lance was tight, but not so tight that he couldn't get the tip of his cock in him. He absently wiped his hand off on the covers, and let his hips do the rest of the work, as he continued sliding into Lance. He placed his hands on either side of Lance's head, dipping down to kiss him. Lance returned the kisses hungrily, moaning and gasping into Keith's mouth, giving a much sharper gasp at the sudden stretch from Keith going deeper - he'd never done missionary before, and Keith felt huge this way.  
  
"We'll take it slow," Keith said against Lance's mouth. Lance writhed a little and gasped again. He let go of his legs and grabbed at Keith's arms, fingers digging in.

"Oh, _god,_ " Lance's voice was ragged.  
  
"I got you, Lance. Let's stretch a little more, okay?" Keith said, kissing him. He pulled out, and grabbed the lube again, slicking up his fingers once more.  
  
" _Keith_ ," Lance begged.  
  
"I know. Just a little more." Keith slid two fingers into Lance, and then slowly added a third. "Just relax. I promise you, I won't hurt you."  
  
Lance's eyes closed, and he breathed deep a few times. "I know you won't."  
  
 _Damn._  
  
Keith waited until Lance's breathing had steadied. He covered his face with kisses, nuzzled against his jaw. "You can touch me if you want to."  
  
Lance went with it, trying to touch him everywhere at once as Keith fingerfucked him. When Keith thought he'd had enough, he pulled his fingers out and slid his cock back into Lance at an agonizingly slow pace. "Look at that," Keith praised. "Balls deep." In the future, Keith was going to eat his ass first.  
  
Lance bit his lower lip again; Keith couldn't help but bend down to kiss it, feeling how hot and swollen it was between his lips. "I'm not gonna move until you say I can." He hissed slightly as Lance ran his thumbs over his nipples. "Fuck."  
  
"You're really sensitive" Lance smiled and swiped his thumbs over them again, and Keith arched into his touch. "That's nice."  
  
"Aren't you?" Keith asked.  
  
"Not like you. You can move, Keith."  
  
Keith did. As much as he wanted to just let loose and fuck Lance into oblivion, he kept his pace slow, enjoying how tight and how _hot_ Lance was. He wanted Lance to _feel_ the drag of Keith's cock inside him as he listened to Lance's unbelievably soft sounds. Keith bit his lip when he felt the warm wetness of Lance's tongue over one of his nipples. Then Lance was licking, sucking, nibbling with the lightest application of teeth-  
  
Keith couldn't help the way his hips snapped in fast and hard at the gentle nibble, and he stilled himself. "Sorry."  
  
Lance, eyes dark with lust, gazed up at Keith and licked his lips lewdly. "Don't be. Do that again."  
  
Keith pulled Lance's legs over his shoulders, nearly bending him in half. He thrust in hard and fast while Lance moaned encouragingly and then arched slightly when Keith fucked him _just_ the right way.  
  
Keith, still convinced Lance was holding back, shifted his legs a little so he was angled better. He changed his pace and thrust into him a little slower, but with more intent. He watched as Lance closed his eyes and opened his mouth, giving little strangled sounds that could have been 'oh' or 'ah' or even Keith's name if they weren't so damn quiet. "Lance," he said and pulled out entirely, forcing his voice to carry that weight, the one Shiro called his dom voice. "Don't. Hold. Back."

Lance looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "I don't know how you think I'm holding back. Fuck. Me."  
  
Keith leaned down, placing his forehead against Lance's, his voice even as he took a hold of his cock to slide into Lance again. "I want to hear you. Want you to cry out my name while I'm _fucking_ you senseless." He punctuated the word by shoving his cock back into Lance, fast and hard. Then, in a softer voice, almost a plea: "I want to hear how beautiful you sound, baby. I've wanted to hear it for over ten years now."  
  
Lance's eyes were a little glassy from the sudden thrust, and at the sudden moment of vulnerability from Keith. He licked his dry lips and looked into Keith's eyes. "For...that long?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I...I don't know if I'm loud," Lance admitted, not willing to address that further right now. "But I won't hold back with you. Promise." He gave a shuddering sigh and closed his eyes as though to soothe the abrupt, raw feeling from Keith's confession. "Fuck me, Keith."  
  
Keith did; hard, fast, deep, taking Lance's cock in his hand and stroking him in time with his thrusts. He closed his own eyes, raising his head so he wasn't banging against Lance's forehead, soft moans, and sharp gasps intermingling with the way Lance started to gradually get louder. After a particularly loud strangled noise, Keith saw that Lance was gasping and clinging to the pillow above him so tight that he looked like he was gonna rip it. "Let go," Keith said, unable to look away from Lance's face, feeling precome spill over his fingers at a particularly deep thrust, Lance's cock throbbing in his hand. "I've got you."  
  
Lance's knuckles banged loudly against the headboard he turned his face to the side, eyes tightly shut. He didn't quite scream Keith's name as he came, ropes of come decorating his sweaty chest and abs, his ass tightening around Keith to the point that Keith was breathless and found his thrusting almost at a standstill from it.  
  
The second Lance stopped clenching, Keith fucked him again, harder, the slap of his hips against Lance's ass echoing in the room. He let go of Lance's cock and braced himself on the bed with both hands as he grabbed fistfuls of blankets, his teeth clenched as he was so, so close, could hear as Lance moaned his name and saying it was too much-  
  
And then _fuck_ , Keith came, his cock throbbing in that glorious tight heat. He spilled himself empty inside of Lance while his hips seemed to move of their own accord with fast, short thrusts and then he slammed in hard, going still.  
  
Lance's eyes opened wide as he felt it, the sudden heat of Keith's come inside of him. That raw nerve feeling from earlier was back, and his thighs shook as Keith finally pulled out of him.  
  
"Oh _shit_ , Lance, I'm so sorry, I-" Lance shut Keith up by pulling him down into a kiss, just as demanding as Keith's first kiss had been, both of them moaning softly until they finally pulled away from it, breathless.  
  
"It's okay." Lance kissed him again, softer this time trying to show Keith he was still indeed, in charge.  
  
Keith rested his forehead against Lance's and smiled at the wordless reassurance. For fuck's sake, why did _he_ need the reassurance? "You okay if I leave you for a second? Gonna go get towels and stuff to clean you up."  
  
It took a second for Lance to comprehend that. "I can just take a shower."  
  
"Nope," Keith said. "This is a thing I do. Shower after."  
  
Lance twitched a shoulder to indicate Keith was good, and fell back onto the bed, trying to make sense of everything that just happened.  
  
Keith was back with two hand towels and a damp washcloth. Lance propped up on his elbows as Keith methodically wiped the drying come off his stomach and chest. He blushed as Keith pushed him back to clean his ass and inner thighs, putting his hands over his face when Keith commented that Lance's gaping asshole was _pretty_ of all things. "Keith," he groaned. "Don't say stuff like that."  
  
"Why not? I mean it," Keith said. He used a towel to pat Lance dry, though it seemed kind of pointless since they were undoubtedly going to shower in just a few minutes. "Shiro used to be the same way. I don't understand how you can think some part of yourself isn't as pretty as the rest."  
  
Hearing Shiro's name brought Lance back to reality, and reality felt like an ice block had settled in his stomach. He sat back up. "Thanks," he said, as Keith straightened up.  
  
"Always," Keith said, wiping off his cock with one of the towels. "Shower?"  
  
Lance got up, a little shakily. "Yeah. Just leave your clothes and the towels there, I'll throw them in the washer in a few."  
  
Keith watched as Lance went to his bathroom and shut the door. Shutting him out.  
  
 _He probably just needs some time to think._ Keith dropped the towels and headed off to the guest bath for a second shower of the day.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro reassures Keith. Keith and Lance have the conversation they probably should've had before fucking. Kosmo is a useful teleporting wolf that can be used as a convenient plot device repeatedly. And is the goodest boy.

Keith resisted the urge to punch a hole in the wall of the guest bathroom. Instead, he showered off and got dressed in record time.

He peered into Lance's bedroom briefly as he combed his fingers through his still-damp hair. Lance's bathroom door was still shut. Keith sighed, stalked through the house, filled a water bottle, and went to go sit out on Lance's back deck. It was in the shade, but he didn't know the Arizona air well enough, and he wasn't going to risk dehydration.  
  
He called Shiro.  
  
"I think I fucked up." Anger made his voice hard. He told Shiro what had happened, though not in detail."...I pushed. I pressured. He felt obligated, this wasn't what he wanted."  
  
"If he didn't want it, he wouldn't have done it," Shiro reasoned. “I _do_ think that you both were extremely impulsive, and just acted on what your hormones wanted. You probably should've talked it out first."  
  
Keith managed a shaky laugh. "You know how good I am at talking things out first."  
  
"You can be," Shiro said. "Anyway. I can't tell you how Lance feels, but you didn't assault him. He wasn't obligated. He wanted it; from everything you've said."  
  
"What should I do?"  
  
Shiro hadn't heard such uncertainty in Keith's voice in years. It made him want to get on the next flight out that would eventually get him to Sierra Vista, go to Lance's house, and hold Keith tightly. And maybe sit down with Lance and Keith both, and talk it out like reasonable adults. It wasn't like they were teens or young adults after all. _But then...they've both only had one serious relationship. So, it is like that._  
  
Kosmo stared at the phone, his ears perked way up. Shiro gave the wolf a reassuring pat. The next second, he and Kosmo appeared on an outdoor deck where Keith sat hunched over miserably in a deck chair, phone to his ear. Keith yelled in surprise at the appearance of sudden husband and space wolf.  
  
"Oh, right. I forgot Kosmo can do that," Shiro said, slipping his phone in his pocket. He sat down next to Keith, as though this was totally normal, and took his hand. "I think you two should talk. When Lance is ready to talk, I mean. Clearly, if he shut himself in his bathroom, he's not ready to do that right this second."  
  
Keith squeezed Shiro's hand and managed a smile. Kosmo shoved his face in his lap and looked up at him with big gold eyes. Keith ruffled his ears and glanced at Shiro. "What if he's not ready and he tells me to leave?"  
  
"Well, you have a trip home right here, if that's the case," Shiro said, patting Kosmo. "As much as I'd love to mediate, you two need to talk this out without me. But I'm gonna set down a rule from here on out."  
  
Keith nodded slightly. "Yeah, sure."  
  
"Talk it through before you do anything else."  
  
Keith snorted. "Like he's gonna let me near him with a twenty-foot pole after this."  
  
"You'd be surprised," Shiro said. "And if...ya know, my dream comes true and he decides he wants us both, _I'm_ going to have a long conversation with him before I even think about touching him. And you, if he wants us both at the same time."  
  
"Yeah," Keith rubbed the back of his neck. "Damn it." He banged the arm of the chair. Shiro let go of Keith's hand and they both stood up. Keith wrapped his arms around Shiro's waist and sighed as he pressed his face against Shiro's shoulder. "I wish I'd had more practice like you with all this relationship stuff."  
  
Shiro hugged Keith close. "Keep practicing," he said. "I'm not bailing you out of this one, Keith. I'll help you how I can, but you've gotta do this yourself."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Keith said quietly and kissed Shiro. "Can you at least tell me how I should start our talk?"  
  
"Mmm, how about 'can we talk?' If I know Lance at all, he'll pour his heart out to you. You can follow his lead that way."  
  
Keith gave another sigh and pressed his face against Shiro's shoulder again. "Yeah. Well. I guess. Uh, I'll call if I need a ride."  
  
"You probably won't," Shiro said. "But if you do, you know how to reach us. Kosmo, I left the coffee pot on, we should probably go back now, huh?" Kosmo looked between the two men and tilted his head. "Oh, right." Shiro stepped away from Keith and smiled warmly at him. "Whatever happens, I'll be here for you when you come home."  
  
Keith nodded and patted Kosmo. "Get him there safely," he told the wolf firmly. Kosmo wagged his tail and with a flash, the two of them were gone. He went back inside and sipped his water. He sat down heavily at the table and forced himself to concentrate on finishing it. _Just talk to Lance._ Because _that_ had gone well this entire trip.  
  
Keith didn't have long to wait or let his anxiety build, because Lance walked into the kitchen and wordlessly sat down across from Keith.  
  
"Lance?" Keith ventured.  
  
"I wanted to apologize," Lance said quickly, voice raspy like he'd been crying. "I didn't think things through, and then I panicked when you said Shiro's name because I can't get past the fact that you're _married_ and I've never been with a married person before because I refuse to be someone's affair or the reason they get divorced and-"  
  
"Hey, hey, slow down," Keith said, reaching across the table to offer Lance his hand; Lance didn't take it immediately, and Keith didn't push it. "Shiro and I are in no danger of getting divorced because of what we just did. Or even fighting because of it. I promise. You trust me, Lance?"  
  
Lance reluctantly took Keith's hand, not meeting his gaze. "Always."  
  
"Then put that thought from your mind. I meant it when I said we both wanna bang you. You _heard_ him on the phone, Lance. He was imagining _you riding him._ "  
  
Lance nodded, still keeping his gaze on the table.

"Okay." Keith quietly cursed to himself. "If anyone needs to apologize, it's me. I've been a bully since I got here, trying to get you to tell me something you weren't ready to talk about and manipulating you into doing something you weren't ready for." Lance looked up from the table finally, and Keith continued. "I pride myself on how far along I've come from the angry foster kid I was, and yet, here I am, hurting one of the most important people in all the universe to me. Just because I got angry you wouldn't talk about something personal. And also, because I wanted so badly to fuck you that I wrangled you into bed before you were ready. My impulse control is shit."  
  
Lance gave Keith's hand a gentle squeeze. "That's not entirely true." Lance's voice was soft. "You're right about me not telling you guys about my condition. It is a Thing, and one I should've shared. I just didn't want any pity or you guys treating me any differently because of it."  
  
"You should know after all this time that none of us are gonna pity you or treat you any different," Keith said firmly. "But you didn't know that for sure. I'm not going to pity you, Lance. I'm not going to treat you any differently either."  
  
Lance gave a slight nod. "As far as sex?"  
  
Keith found himself holding his breath.

"I don't regret that either, and maybe we did go a little faster than what I'm used to, so I can't go that fast going forward."  
  
Keith remained quiet, knowing Lance wasn't finished. "I told you that I only do one-night stands," Lance said.  
  
Keith nodded.  
  
"I...it's more than that." Lance looked at the table again. "And you joked about escorts, and it made me uncomfortable."  
  
"I noticed that," Keith said, his voice low.  
  
"That's because I've only ever been with escorts. That's what my one-night stands are. Hired sex."  
  
Keith stayed quiet, stroking his thumb over Lance's.  
  
"I wasn't kidding when I said I was bad at asking people out," Lance admitted. "When I came here, I was suddenly alone and had not enough to do. And I liked working in my yard, but with this heat, you can't work long. Going from cadet to paladin to farmer to...nothing. It didn't sit well with me. And since it's so hot during the day, I found myself going out at night to see what this desert town had to offer. I met some people and ended up at the Red Moon. That's the local escort service," Lance added.

Keith normally would've said he grasped that, but he merely nodded.  
  
"It's not really something I can tell my parents, whenever they ask about my love life," Lance said. "Or my siblings. So, whenever they visit, I just say I'm enjoying retirement as a bachelor. Certainly not something I would really tell you guys, as often as Pidge likes to rib me about the lack of sex life she thinks I have."  
  
"Does it embarrass you?"  
  
Lance shook his head. "No, not really. But it seems complicated to say that my only sex life is one I pay for because I really _don't_ know how to initiate relationships. And at almost thirty, it's unlikely I ever will."  
  
Keith could see how it could be complicated with his family. With the Paladins? None of them would give it a second thought, as long as Lance was being safe. "You're so brave, Lance," Keith said as he tried to catch Lance's eye. "You didn't have to tell me anything, and yet you're telling me everything."  
  
"Well, not _everything._ I have to have a few secrets, like my beauty regimen," Lance said with a shaky laugh.  
  
"It's working, whatever it is," Keith said with a smile. "Can I ask you something? You don't have to answer, I promise not to get all Galra on you."  
  
"Yeah, sure."  
  
"I can tell you were crying." He waited to see if Lance would balk at that. When he didn't, Keith continued. "Is that...normal after sex? With the escorts, I mean?"  
  
Lance shook his head, his gaze on the table again. "No, that was me having way too many emotions at once and not knowing how to handle them. I'm not a weepy uke," he said with a crooked smile. At Keith's blank look, Lance laughed. "Ask Shiro or Pidge."  
  
"If I can even remember that term," Keith snorted. "Just making sure. I was starting to wonder if my performance was so bad that it depressed you."  
  
Lance laughed. "Definitely not. That was probably the best sex I've had in a long, long time."  
  
"Good, because I've been told my technique is flawless," Keith said, sounding completely and yet not at all serious.  
  
Another laugh and Lance gave Keith's hand another squeeze. "Can I ask _you_ something?"  
  
"Whatever you like. As much as you like," Keith said.  
  
"You said you'd wanted me for more than ten years. Can you...elaborate?"  
  
Keith smiled. "You remember the third Allura Celebration, when Coran had that giant black-tie dinner on Altea, and it was like everyone who was anyone showed up?"

Lance nodded.

"So, you know how we hadn't seen each other much before that. Or rather, we hadn't seen you, because the rest of us were still in the Garrison, and you took the honorable discharge."

"Yup," Lance gestured for Keith to continue.

"And you showed up wearing that black tux and looking like a goddamn runway model. I didn't recognize you at first. And then Shiro said...well, anyway. Granted, it sounds shallow, but you were so hot that I just wanted to drag you off to a corner and have my way with you."  
  
Lance laughed quietly. "What did Shiro say?"  
  
Keith knew it word for word. "'He really cleaned up nicely after puberty finished ravaging him, huh? Damn, what a glow-up.'"  
  
Lance laughed again. "He actually used the term 'glow up?'"  
  
"Shiro knows a lot more slang than anyone gives him credit for," Keith said knowingly. "But I had to agree with him. Not to say you weren't attractive before."  
  
"Nah. I was way too skinny," Lance said. "Mami told me that all the time. I even got a lecture from Coran once, when he found out that I was on the light side for my height and age."  
  
"I bet that went over well."  
  
"About as well as when I showed him and...Allura where milkshakes came from." Lance still sounded pained when he said her name, but at least he wasn't bolting off to the bathroom. "Why didn't you tell me before?"  
  
It took Keith a moment to understand what Lance was asking. "We spent about three months, give or take a few days, talking every night about it," Keith admitted. "We came to the conclusion - perhaps the wrong one - that we'd never act on it unless you showed interest first."  
  
Lance sounded hurt. "Why's that?"  
  
Keith winced slightly. "Because... well, because neither of us really knew how adding a third person would be. Didn't know how it would affect our dynamic, and because, well, frankly, it was scary, Lance. Because it was _you._ "  
  
" _I'm_ scary?"  
  
"Not that you're scary. I mean, you can be, especially during laser tag. One of the most ferocious snipers I've ever met."  
  
"Keith," Lance said, warning him not to get sidetracked.  
  
"Right. Because you're so important to us. If I...if we, messed that up because we're both two horny old men, it would kill us. It'd kill _me._ I can't imagine my life without you. It would hurt too much. I know that's selfish, but it's true, damn it. I can't lose you. I've lost too much already."  
  
Lance took a deep breath and put his hand over Keith's. "I'm not going anywhere if I can help it," Lance said. "Go on."  
  
"Well, I can't really speak for Shiro. Even as his husband, but I'm sure he feels the same way, or similar. I'd be surprised if not," Keith said. "You'll have to talk to him yourself. I mean, if you have any desire for him. That was another reason, actually. That we wouldn't act on it. Because maybe you only liked one of us or the other, and we didn't want to pressure you into something you didn't want."  
  
"I used to jerk off to Shiro back on the castle ship," Lance said. "I know I tried to hide it back then by being...uh. Overly flirtatious with Allura, and any other attractive aliens that we met. I never stopped thinking he was hot. It got a little complicated when everything happened and kept happening. And then I thought you and Shiro were like this big brother/little brother dynamic, so I got hopeful again, and then it turned out he was a clone and...well anyway. I...let go of the idea of him when I saw you two together at the end of it all. Because that's all it ever was, just an idea."  
  
It took Keith a moment to realize Lance had, in a roundabout way, at least admitted to his ongoing attraction to Shiro.  
  
"And me?"  
  
Lance chuckled and pulled his hands away from Keith's. "Unbelievable. Keith. Fine. I was flirting with you the second we met back up again after you got kicked out of the Garrison. Of course, I still thought you were hot too. But I let the idea of you go when you and Shiro hooked up." Lance stood up, leaned across the table and kissed Keith on the forehead. "I've always thought you were hot. Never stopped thinking it, and you _are_ hot. Good enough?"  
  
"I suppose," Keith said with a grin as Lance sat back down.  
  
"Are you okay if...I'm not ready to approach Shiro about this yet? I'm still adjusting the idea of you, and whatever this is," Lance said, sounding unsure again. "And if that's a deal-breaker or whatever, I understand."  
  
"Lance, this goes however you want it to go." Keith held out his hand again, and Lance took it. "If you decide you only want Shiro, then you two will work that out how you want to. If you want us both, then we all need to sit down and talk about it. As long as you're still in my life, I don't care how you do this. However you want, as long you're in it."  
  
Lance looked down at the table again. Keith realized it meant Lance was dealing with emotions behind everything that was being said, not yet comfortable showing them. "I want to do it again. I know you have to be in control, but I want to suck your cock at least once if you're okay with it. I like sucking cock, and I really want to taste yours."  
  
"Yeah, Lance. _Yeah._ Sure. Of course."  
  
"Not right this second, though," Lance added, looking up. "Maybe later this evening? Mess up some more covers? Oh, quiznak! I need to get those clothes and covers."  
  
"I'll help with the laundry. The covers maybe just leave them until later?"  
  
"I could just get a blanket from one of the guest rooms for after," Lance said thoughtfully. "Yeah, okay, that'll work."

Keith let go of Lance's hand as he got up and followed him to help gather up the clothes and towels.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro's point of view from the last chapter. And also space wolf cuddling, because Kosmo is a good boy. And yes, Keith is Shiro's Dom in the bedroom.

Shiro and Kosmo were snuggling on the couch when Keith called in a panic. A short wolf zap later, he was trying to calm Keith down, still not sure if he'd done so by the time Kosmo zapped him back to New San Diego.  
  
Kosmo hopped back on the couch as soon as they got back. Shiro sat down next to him and resumed their cuddling. He kept his phone on the coffee table in case Keith called. "I forget that Keith and Lance don't have a lot of relationship experience," he told the wolf, as though Kosmo understood him. "Especially not if a third person is thrown into the mix. Ups the complexity a lot."  
  
Kosmo thumped his tail against the couch and set his head on Shiro's lap, closing his eyes. The wolf was probably tired from the teleport, even though it was a short trip. Shiro stroked Kosmo's head and waited for the familiar beep of the coffee maker.  
  
Kosmo looked so peaceful, so Shiro didn't bother getting up immediately. After a while, he carefully scooted out from the under the wolf's head and went to get coffee. The phone rang as soon as he sat down again, but it was just a prerecorded courtesy call from the Garrison. The usual end of summer reminder that all instructors should submit schedule changes by July fifteenth.

Shiro had been instructing for so long that he knew the message by heart. He deleted it, added a reminder to his phone calendar, and put the phone back down. He took a sip of his coffee as he enjoyed the cool of the AC blowing through the townhouse. It was a lazy afternoon, and that sudden trip to the desert had hit him harder than he expected as short as it was.  
  
How did Lance live in that heat every day?  
  
He sighed and took another sip of coffee. Hunk told them not to dwell on the fact that none of them had gone to visit, but Shiro couldn't help it. How could he not want to visit Lance?

It wasn't that he didn't want to. Part of it was not being sure he could control himself around him. If Keith had it bad, Shiro had it worse. Maybe it was worse because Shiro _had_ already delved into the open part of their marriage. The proverbial floodgates had already been opened.

He'd caught himself staring at Lance more than once during their weekly visits. He knew part of it was the fact that Keith felt the same way, and it would be so easy to just ask Lance to join them one night and see how things went. But Lance had never shown an iota of interest, at least not to Shiro.  
  
Lance'd shown interest in Keith. He remembered when Keith had told him about 'some weird boy who asked him to the movies.' He found out it was that enthusiastic little kid who tried everything under the sun to get Keith to notice him. Lance flirted differently with girls, but Shiro saw his vies for attention for what they were. And Keith had started to sort of flirt back. A little. But then-

Everything changed. Everything personal got buried beneath the war, beneath their duties as Paladins. Even ongoing attraction.  
  
The attraction had resurfaced, and now Lance and Keith were trying to deal with it. Shiro desperately wanted to just step in and walk them through it, but he knew he couldn't. Had to let them do this on their own. If it was Keith and anyone else, Shiro would've cheerfully stepped in, but this was Lance. Even if Shiro _wasn't_ drooling over him, it was _Lance._ They were far too close; they had been through too much. Shiro would _not_ let his own desires influence anything going on between them, possibly driving a rift between them. He'd never forgive himself if Lance became distant. It would hurt him, and it would _really_ hurt Keith.

While therapy had helped, Keith's abandonment issues still hadn't gone away. Keith would absolutely shut down for a long time if Lance disappeared. No wonder he was so upset and angry when Lance moved even though Lance was still on Earth, and it was only a slight inconvenience to get his place. Keith may not have understood it himself, but Shiro saw it, clear as day. Keith took Lance moving as a rejection of sorts, and it made him panic.  
  
He wasn't exactly surprised that Keith had up and left to go visit Lance himself as soon as it was brought up. Keith wanted, no he _needed_ an excuse to go see Lance and demand why he'd left home.  
  
The sex part surprised Shiro, but only a little. When Keith was upset, his self-control waned. They didn't necessarily discuss it, but Shiro still knew how much Keith wanted Lance. If Keith's self-control was already frayed, it would make sense that his primal urges would kick into overdrive. Shiro was more surprised at Lance going with it too.  
  
 _Keith went Galran on Lance._  
  
Shiro remembered when Keith said that, though he'd, 'not much.' Shiro had seen Keith go into what Keith himself simply called "Galran." His eyes would change, his canines seemed to elongate and he would rage. He punched holes in the drywall. He flipped the couch and even once shorted out a TV with a well-aimed remote.  
  
The rage wasn't directed at Shiro, but Shiro had made himself scarce at any rate. That was early in their days of living together. The fury had been triggered by Kolivan telling him that he was no longer a Blade of Marmora.  
  
Later Kolivan explained that the organization was becoming the Hand of Marmora, and Krolia herself had come to lay out what the plan was for it. Keith - realizing Shiro wasn't kicking him out for his display of aggression - apologized for his destructive behavior and started earnestly working on his self-control and anger management.  
  
Keith was only human (well, half) and he still got angry sometimes. He was better at self-control and hadn't broken any other appliances, but he still punched drywall in his rage. It became something of a tongue-in-cheek joke when Pidge was visiting.  
  
But Keith had lost it in front of Lance. Even he said it was 'not much.'

"Lance, you're braver than I am," Shiro murmured, putting his mug down to give Kosmo pets as the wolf settled his head in Shiro's lap again. "I don't want to be near Keith until he's cooled down."  
  
Kosmo thumped his tail against the couch again, gave a huge yawn, and closed his eyes. Shiro did too.

  
The phone rang again, startling Shiro out of his impromptu nap, but Kosmo didn't stir. Shiro reached awkwardly over the wolf to get it. "Hey, babe."  
  
"Hey," Keith sounded a lot less panicky. Good, this wasn't a call needing a wolf transport home. "So, we talked."  
  
"I take it that it went well, by the tone of your voice," Shiro said.  
  
"I think it did."  
  
"You think?"  
  
"It did," Keith clarified. "Baby steps."  
  
"Yeah," Shiro agreed. "So, you're staying until Thursday?"  
  
"I am. I'm gonna treat Thursday like normal though. Because...well, because it is. And if I learned anything from our talk, that's incredibly important, especially to Lance," Keith said resolutely.  
  
"Then I will too because you're right. It is important."  
  
"I love you," Keith said, and the weight behind it made Shiro's heart beat a little faster. He'd be lying if he said he didn't miss Keith because he did. That brief interlude via wolf travel had whetted his appetite. That was fine, he could look forward to later.

"I love you, Keith."  
  
"What have you been doing? Besides getting zapped to the desert."  
  
"Being lazy and enjoying my summer break," Shiro said. "You know, hanging out on the couch and streaming too much. Letting Kosmo hair up the bed. Drinking coffee. Fucking myself with that pretty cast dildo you gave me before bed so I can sleep better."  
  
"...you're _evil_. Teasing me like that. You'll get yours when I come home, don't you worry," Keith said with a laugh.

"I know it. How about you give it to Lance while you're there for practice?" As soon as Shiro said it, he swore under his breath. He didn't know if they'd be doing anything further, and maybe it was too early to make light of it.  
  
Keith chuckled. "I plan to after dinner."  
  
Shiro bit his lip, more than a little hard thinking about it. Kosmo noticed, gave him a Look, and hopped off the couch to go find a napping spot away from the sudden spike in hormones. Shiro didn't notice, or if he did, didn't care. "Yeah?"  
  
"Mmmhmm. He said no one's ever eaten out that pretty ass of his, so I plan on doing that, first. And then after he's good and worked up...we'll see."  
  
"You're so good at that," Shiro murmured, reaching down to unbutton his pants. "Really, really good at that. I love it so much when you eat me out."  
  
"I'm thinking I'll have him ride me," Keith's tone was low. "So, he can set the pace on my nice, _thick_ cock."  
  
"Oh god," Shiro breathed. "Lucky Lance. You feel so good like that Keith, so good-"  
  
"You jerking off, Shiro?"  
  
Shiro gasped and pulled his hand out of his underwear. "Uh. No?"  
  
Keith's laugh sent a jolt down Shiro's spine. "Yes, you were. Dirty boy. You're gonna fuck yourself hard with that thick cock tonight. I want your ass sore tomorrow so you're squirming."  
  
"Y-yes, sir," Shiro said, desperately trying not to rub himself against the fabric of his underwear. "Please, can I finish while I think about Lance riding you?"  
  
"Not on the phone. You can wait until I hang up. And do it in the bathroom. I'm not cleaning jizz _and_ wolf hair off the couch again."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Good boy, Shiro," Keith's Dom voice went straight to Shiro's cock, and he bit back a sound as the wet spot on his boxer briefs grew bigger. "Go jerk off for me and record it." He paused, his voice softer. "I do love you, Shiro."  
  
"I-I know," Shiro managed, as he got up to head to the bathroom. "I love you, Keith. Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome. Now go be my good boy. I'll talk to you later."  
  
With that, Shiro hung up the phone and went to the bathroom. He set the phone up against the toothbrush holder. It wouldn't quite get everything, but good enough. As soon as it was on and recording, he took his leaking cock in his hand and stroked it. "Keith," he moaned, looking at the orange transparent block and then- "Lance." He stroked faster, thrusting his hips in opposition to his stroking, knowing better than to rest his head on the cool porcelain of the sink. He closed his eyes, imagining Lance riding Keith. Keith _was_ thick, and he couldn't get over the mental image of Lance stretching around that girth.  
  
It was _almost_ hotter than imagining Lance riding _him._ Shiro imagined Keith stroking his hips, Lance bouncing on Keith's dick, Lance making pretty sounds. "Shit," Shiro murmured.

_Lance begging Shiro to jerk him off. Shiro coming up behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist, taking Lance's cock in his hand while he rode Keith, stroking himself and stroking Lance, both to completion, coming at the same time-_  
  
Shiro gave a shuddering groan as he came, dropping his head to rest against the sink for a few seconds. He managed to look back up, smile at the phone. "So good," he said, and then stopped the recording. He grabbed some toilet paper, wiped off his hand, and then sent the recording to Keith. He cleaned up the mess on the bathroom cabinet and the floor, straightened himself up and pulled his jeans back up, and went back out to the living room to find a show to marathon.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner, some more talk, making out and a second round to make up for several decades of UST.

Keith made dinner. It looked like a pile of steaming garbage, but it was delicious, and Lance found himself having seconds and then thirds.  
  
"Told you about that porterhouse," Keith said, smug.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, gloat about it," Lance said with a grin. He took a few sips of water and sat back, patting his stomach. "Man, I could just fall asleep right here."  
  
"Food comas are the best," Keith agreed. "Hunk delivers on those."  
  
"He sure does." He stood up as Keith started to gather the dishes. "Hey, stop. You cooked. I'll clean up."  
  
Keith wasn't going to argue. He watched as Lance started running water in the sink. "You look good in the kitchen," he said with a grin. "Domestic Lance. Suits you."  
  
Lance laughed. "Just imagining me wearing an apron and nothing else, aren't you?"  
  
"No, but now I am," Keith said, smirking. He behaved while Lance cleaned up; though as soon as he was done, Keith was right up behind him, wrapping his arms around Lance's waist and nuzzling the side of his neck, kissing. Then he stopped abruptly. "Sorry. Fuck. I forgot-"  
  
"It's fine," Lance said, reaching back to comb his fingers through Keith's hair. "Not like you're dry humping me." Keith grinned against Lance's neck and did just that.

"Keith, oh my god!" Lance laughed and pushed Keith away from him. "Wasn't earlier enough?"  
  
"Nope," Keith said, catching Lance's hands in his own and squeezing them. "I'm still hungry for you."  
  
"You can wait a little bit," Lance said, squeezing back and smiling. "I gotta go take more drugs and drink a bunch of water first. And take a leak. I don't do watersports like I said."  
  
Keith wrinkled his nose. "No, we're the same there. Come, on the other hand, can be a pretty decoration on someone's face or back or stomach."  
  
Lance turned red, and let go of Keith's hands. "When did you become such a perv?"  
  
"Always have been. But only around people I'm fucking."  
  
Lance kept up that blush and tried to laugh it off, walking away from Keith.  
  
This was a side of Keith that was unexpected. Lance tried not to think much of it. _It was just his way of flirting._ Lance popped open several bottles and dumped out various pills into his palm and swallowed them dry. He headed back to the kitchen to start his water. Keith was nowhere to be seen, but he could hear him on the back porch. _Probably talking to Shiro._ He filled up a glass of water and downed it.  
  
What was he doing? He knew what Shiro said, and what Keith said. And Lance had no problem with people having open relationships. He wasn't fit to judge anyone on their sex life, that was for sure. His own was a never-ending roulette random escorts, not a single one that he could recall by name or their face. If Keith and Shiro were open and happy, then that was all that mattered.

  
Why was he struggling with this? He and Keith had fucked only hours ago. After, he'd panicked in the shower and had a minor breakdown about it. But they'd talked, and Lance said he wanted to try more.

He filled the glass again, taking a sip, trying to wash the bitter taste of the pills out of his mouth. They always seemed to linger on the back of his tongue.  
  
He could hear Keith talking, but not what he was saying. He didn't want to eavesdrop, so he took his water to the couch and sat down heavily, looking at the coffee table. He hated that he was overthinking everything. Why couldn't he just be a normal guy, and be flattered as hell that not one, but two _gorgeous_ men wanted him?  
  
He absently touched his face, fingers running over the mark below his left eye.  
  
 _Because I'm not normal._  
  
He'd finished his second glass when Keith came back in. "You need another gallon?" Keith asked lightly, sitting down next to him and reaching up to play with the hair at the nape of his neck.  
  
"Nope, not tonight anyway," Lance said trying not to obviously lean into the touch.  
  
"Your hair is ridiculously soft," Keith said, working fingers through Lance's short hair. "Is it that smelly ass shampoo you have?"  
  
Lance laughed quietly, putting his glass on one of the coasters and decided _the hell with it_ , leaning against Keith. "And the conditioner, but I'm sure you've never used that in your life. I'm pretty damn thorough in my beauty regimen."  
  
Keith grinned. "Mani-pedis, facials, you obviously manscape. Probably go to a salon for haircuts. Vain, Lance?"  
  
Lance shook his head. "Not really. I just...I don't know. I take care of myself because...well, I just do."  
  
"Because why?" Keith prodded.  
  
"Because no one else did." As soon as he said it, Lance immediately felt the need to explain. "That came out wrong. It's not like I was neglected or anything. It just- never mind.  
  
"No, don't brush it aside. What is it?"

Lance gave a soft sigh. "Marco got really sick when I was still pretty little. And he didn't get better for a long time, so, it's just how it happened. It's silly, I know. I know what you went through-"  
  
Keith cut him off. "Lance, what I went through doesn't invalidate what you went through. How little was little?"  
  
"I think I just turned five...yeah. Near the end of summer," Lance said. "We all learned how to do things when Mami and Papi were at the hospital with him for days at a time. We kinda taught ourselves - how to cook and clean, the usual stuff. And when he came home, his recovery took a few years, so we just kept at it. To make it easier for everyone, it's just how it was."  
  
"It became a habit."  
  
Lance nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"I have to ask," Keith said with a little grin. "How did that evolve into your beauty routine?"  
  
"Veronica and Rachel warned me that puberty was going to shred me to bits, so they introduced me to skincare before that happened. I think they expected me to stick to astringent and face wash. I admit, I kind of go overboard sometimes with things. But it was fun, actually, learning how to really take care of my skin. It escalated until I basically was doing a spa treatment on myself. I liked it because I saw that my effort was rewarded. You probably don't remember back then, but I didn't ever get acne. Or even pimples much."  
  
"Actually," Keith said. "I did notice. If only because half the people in our health ed class said you hadn't hit puberty because your skin was clear. You got so furious about that."  
  
Lance laughed. "You remember."  
  
"I also remember you saying you'd be happy to show off your pubes as proof."  
  
Lance ducked his head and put his hand over his mouth. "Oh my god. I did, didn't I?"  
  
"If I recall, some dick kept egging you on to do it."  
  
"Did they? I don't know if I remember that. Who was it?"  
  
Keith rubbed Lance's neck, chuckling. "Me."  
  
Lance snorted into his hand. "What, you wanted to look?"  
  
"Lance, I was a hormonal wreck when I was thirteen. Of course I did."  
  
"Even after saying you'd date a dog before me?" Lance straightened up, but he was smiling. Keith was momentarily floored at how gorgeous this man was when he was _really_ smiling.  
  
"Kids are fucking stupid. I was especially," Keith said with a knowing nod. "Hey. Thanks for sharing."  
  
"Sure," Lance said and leaned in to kiss Keith. The first few were chaste as Lance shifted on the couch a little to face Keith better. He got one hand in his hair and the other sliding up under the back of his shirt, pulling Keith closer. Keith smiled into one of the kisses and nipped Lance's lower lip, hooking his fingers into his jeans belt-loops and tugging. "Didn't you say you had to take a leak before we started again?"  
  
Lance chuckled softly. "We're not fucking yet, we're just making out."  
  
"Just starting to make out," Keith corrected.

Lance pressed kisses to the side of his neck. Keith moaned softly when Lance bit down gently. "Hey, if you mark me up, you're gonna have to explain to Pidge and Hunk." Lance pulled away and he _pouted_ at Keith, stuck out lower lip and all. Keith laughed, slipping his arms around Lance's waist. "I don't care, but you might."  
  
"If they ask," Lance argued, and nuzzled over the red spot. "But...maybe not this time." Instead, he slid his hands up Keith's shirt, thumbs stroking over his nipples.

Keith sucked in a harsh gasp as Lance pinched them, feeling his cock spring to life in his jeans almost painfully. "F-fuck!"  
  
Lance laughed against Keith's shoulder, pulling back to look at him with a grin on his face. "I know you have to be in control or in charge or whatever, but-"  
  
"It's fine like this, Lance," Keith said easily. "You'll know when I'm in charge."  
  
"Good," Lance said, tugging up Keith's shirt. "Off."  
  
Keith cheerfully complied, tugging off his t-shirt and tossing it aside. Lance pushed him back on the couch, straddling his thighs once they'd both shifted around enough, and trailed kisses down from his neck to one of his nipples. "Sensitive," Lance said, stroking a finger over it and listening to Keith moan softly. "That's so fun."  
  
"Haa- fun?" Keith managed as Lance ran his tongue over a nipple experimentally, feeling it harden. "Fuck."  
  
"Yeah. Fun." And then Lance was sucking on it, nibbling lightly, while Keith moaned and arched up. Lance teased the other nipple with his fingers, stroking and pinching. He felt the way Keith was starting to buck up his hips into nothingness. He reached down and cupped Keith through his jeans, entertaining the thought of seeing just how undone he could make the man beneath him just doing this. He switched over to the other nipple with his mouth, nibbling and sucking while he rubbed and squeezed Keith's cock through the rough denim. "Mmh-"  
  
Keith's hands had been stroking his sides, but now they were gripping his hips while Keith was rutting against his hand, trying to pull him forward on his lap. Lance pulled away with a soft _pop_ and licked his lips. "Can I suck your cock?"  
  
"Fuck yeah you can."  
  
Lance got up off of Keith and took a few steps back. Keith righted himself as he unbuttoned his jeans and slid them down his hips, just enough to be able to pull his cock out from his boxers, the tip glistening with precome. "You gotta let me take over from here," Keith said as Lance knelt on the floor in front of him. "Okay?"  
  
Lance nodded. "Okay."

Keith spread his legs wider, reaching down to stroke himself and Lance crawled forward, settling himself between Keith's knees. He looked up at him expectantly, licking his lips. Keith stroked Lance's hair with his other hand, while he continued to pump his cock slowly with lazy squeezes and tugs. "Think you can make me come with just your mouth?"  
  
"I know I can," Lance said, just a little smug.  
  
"We'll see about that," Keith said, letting go of his cock and putting his other hand on Lance's head, threading his fingers into his hair. "You may touch me, but only your mouth may touch my cock. Understand? Don't stop until I come."  
  
"Yes," Lance said. He took the tip of Keith's cock in his mouth, tightening his lips around the head. Keith _didn't_ say he couldn't touch his balls with his hands, so Lance pulled Keith's jeans and boxers lower so he could get at them. He slipped a hand between Keith's legs stroking them with one hand while he squeezed Keith's still clothed thigh with the other.

He was pleased when he heard the way Keith's breath changed slightly, and used his tongue to tease at the slit, lapping up precome. Keith combed his fingers through Lance's hair, gently gripping and guiding him just a little to go further. Lance complied eagerly, swallowing his way down Keith's cock and trying to make use of his tongue as he did so. He couldn't help but drool a little as Keith finally let go of Lance's hair, stopping Lance just short of having the head against his throat.  
  
"You can move," Keith purred, stroking Lance's hair again.  
  
Lance did, hollowing his cheeks, pulling back and then dropping back down, continuing to paw and knead a little at Keith's balls and stroke his leg. Keith stroked Lance's hair in time with sucking, only occasionally gripping it to slow him down or speed him up when Lance was being a little too intense or going too gentle for his liking.  
  
And Lance was _good._ Not that Shiro was a slouch in the blowjob department, but maybe it had to with Lance's flexibility, and the fact that he seemed to have no gag reflex. And the way he kept looking up at Keith as his head bobbed up and down on his dick. He looked like a man who was born to suck a cock, _fuck._ And he kept touching Keith everywhere, his legs, his hips, his abdomen. Keith knew it was probably torture that Lance couldn't jerk himself and suck at the same time.  
  
Keith's cock started throbbing in his mouth, and Lance eagerly continued, trying to look up at Keith as he did. Keith caressed Lance's cheek. "Getting close," he said and gave a tentative buck up into Lance's mouth. Lance met it with enthusiasm, his eyes watering a little, but another thrust and Keith could see Lance could suppress his gag reflex like a champ. "I'm gonna fuck your face now, you keep doing what you're doing," Keith said. "Blink if you're okay with that."  
  
Lance blinked several times to indicate he was very okay with it. Keith put his hands back in Lance's hair, slowing him suddenly as he started to thrust at his own pace into Lance's mouth, relishing the moans that vibrated around the head of his cock. How Lance's hands on his thighs tightened a little as he braced himself against Keith's thrusts. "I'm so close, b- Lance, so close, oh god, you feel _divine_ , fuck-"  
  
"Mmmhh!" was all Lance could manage, when suddenly Keith thrust in deep and the salty tang of come filled his mouth, some of it dripping down his throat before he could pull back off of Keith. Keith hadn't said whether he wanted him to spit or swallow, so he stayed still until Keith started to go soft, giving another little thrust and pulling out of his mouth.  
  
"Oh, shit, Lance, I'm sorry, I should've...you don't have to swallow my load ya-"  
  
Before could finish his sentence, Lance had. "Told you I was a pro at swallowing," he said with a little grin, his face flushed and his eyes a little glassy.  
  
"Nnnghfuck," Keith said, sinking bonelessly into the couch. "You are." He sat back up after a few deep breaths. Lance, still fully clothed, was very obviously hard, and sporting a magnificent wet spot on his jeans. "I haven't forgotten you."  
  
"Let's take it to the bedroom, then. But I gotta pee first."  
  
"Oh good, that wasn't you wetting yourself," Keith said with a grin as Lance stood up. Lance snatched one of the decorative throw pillows and smacked Keith playfully with it. Keith laughed. "I mean, you did drink forty gallons of water."  
  
"Only thirty-eight," Lance corrected, trying to keep a straight face. "Be right back."  
  
Keith retrieved his shirt from where it had fallen. He went to the guest room to strip the rest of the way, and then back to the master bedroom where Lance was coming out of the bathroom, already half undressed. "Were you serious when you said you've never had your ass eaten?  
  
Lance paused from pulling down his jeans for a moment. "That is a fact."  
  
"Good. I can do that while I get my second wind." Keith took the opportunity to lie back down on the bed. "Come sit on my face when you're ready."  
  
Lance nearly tripped as he kicked his jeans off. "Huh?"  
  
"You have enough control of your body that I know you won't break my neck. You heard me," Keith said.  
  
Lance crawled up onto the bed next to Keith, who had an arm behind his head.

Keith grinned lazily at him. "Straddle me and get that pretty ass of yours over my face so I can make you see heaven."  
  
"I think I've seen heaven, or something close to it," Lance quipped, feeling even more exposed than he did when Keith was examining his naked body. "Wouldn't it be easier to do this in another position?"  
  
"Probably, but I just had my soul sucked out through my cock, so this is easier for me while I get my second wind."  
  
Lance laughed awkwardly, turning around and straddling Keith's chest reverse-cowboy style. When Keith didn't object, Lance moved backward on his knees until he thought he was at roughly the right spot. "Don't actually _sit_ , right?"  
  
"I'll tell you when it's too much," Keith promised. "Move forward a little more. Put your weight on your hands if you're worried about it. Don't touch your cock while I do this."  
  
Lance bit his lower lip and complied, a blush blooming on his face that spread down neck and shoulders as he carefully lowered himself. Keith reached up to spread his cheeks more, and oh god, he actually kissed his asshole. Lance was going to _die._ "Keith, I'm not sure about this."  
  
Keith paused, his voice a little muffled as he nuzzled into Lance's ass. "Why not? You showered, right? We already fucked and I can tell that you know how to clean yourself out. I'm not worried."  
  
"Of course I do," Lance said, biting back a moan as he felt Keith's tongue swipe along the puckered ring of muscle. "It's just...embarrassing." He cried out as Keith slapped his ass.  
  
"None of that. It's part of you, and there's nothing about you that's dirty or shameful. Including your pretty ass."  
  
"You could just fing- _ahh._ "  
  
Keith licked and kissed his taint, nudging Lance to spread his legs wider. Lance did, closing his eyes and clenching his teeth to bite back any further arguing. He used his hands to brace himself so he wasn't putting weight on Keith's face. Keith reached up to stroke Lance's cock, thumb stroking over the head. He continued to lick and kiss his taint and asshole until he felt Lance relax a little. He stroked Lance's cock again, and slipped the tip of his tongue inside Lance, listening to the way his breathing started to get a little harsher.  
  
But damn, if he wasn't being quiet. Keith would change _that._ He kept sliding his tongue in deeper, trying to get Lance to relax. He squeezed his cock and stroked his thigh, his thumb lingering over one of those marks. Keith noticed how Lance trembled when he touched the mark and could feel the way Lance's hands gripped his thighs in response. "Open up," Keith purred with a little lick. He was rewarded with a soft, desperate moan, and he could feel Lance's precome dripping down on his chest. "Relax, Lance."  
  
"T-trying," Lance said, attempting _not_ to squeeze the life out of Keith's thighs. He let go and moved his hands to rest beside Keith's legs, gripping the bed instead. "Not used to this, you know."  
  
Keith thought about it; he'd have to use his fingers sooner or later anyway. He worked Lance's cock a little more until his fingertips were slick with precome. Not slick enough to fingerfuck him, but at least get him open a little wider. He brushed over Lance's balls and started stroking around his asshole in little circles, slipping just the tip of his finger into him.  
  
If Lance wasn't used to a tongue, he was definitely used to fingers, relaxing considerably as Keith worked his finger inside. Keith smiled, continuing a little longer until he pulled his finger out and slid his tongue right back in its place, much deeper than before. The sound Lance made was _incredible_ ; brief, sharp and beautiful and an actual guttural moan instead of those soft wisps of sound. Keith grinned (or as best he could with his tongue buried in Lance's ass.) He slid it in and out with the occasional licking and kissing, tonguefucking Lance deep as he could until he felt a stream of precome peppering his chest.

Lance dug into the sheets, his legs shaking a little. It wasn't the best position for eating ass for an extended period of time unless you were practiced, but they could save the long lazy ass-eating session for another time - assuming there'd be more of this. This was enough to get him used to the idea of it.  
  
Right now? Keith's cock was already half-hard listening to Lance, and he was more than ready to fuck him again. "Get off of me now," Keith said, patting Lance on the thigh. Lance turned around so he was facing Keith. He remained sitting on his knees, trying to steady himself, and reached down to palm his aching cock.  
  
"What did I say?" Keith said, sitting up. "Don't touch."  
  
" _Fuck_ , I'm sorry," Lance said, borderline exasperated and hastily put his hand on his thigh.  
  
"Don't have to apologize," Keith said. "Ride me. Unless you wanna fuck me instead?"  
  
Lance stalled out again. "Huh?"  
  
Keith laughed. "You don't ever top, Lance?"  
  
"Sure, sometimes. I just wasn't expecting that from you."  
  
"Doesn't mean I'm not still in charge," Keith leaned back, propping himself up on one of his elbows as he wrapped his fingers around his cock and squeezed it a few times, noting how Lance's eyes were locked onto it. He grinned at him.  
  
"You can't just eat my ass and expect me to not want to finish it off," Lance said, putting his hand over Keith's. Keith didn't tell him to stop, merely nodded while they both stroked him a few times, Lance's thumb running over the slit as precome beaded there. "I wanna ride you."  
  
"Then do it," Keith said, smacking Lance's hand away. "You need me to stretch you first?"  
  
"Nope," Lance said, straddling Keith's thighs again. He reached behind him to grab the bottle of lube and thumbed it open. He poured some into his palm before snapping the bottle shut and dropping it next to him. He worked it on his fingers and rose on his knees. "I'll do it."  
  
Keith reached up to grasp Lance's hips, thumbs stroking over his hipbones soothingly while Lance worked his fingers into himself. "God, you are so beautiful."  
  
Lance laughed, startled. "You're gonna give me a legitimate ego if you keep sweet- hahhh - talking me."

_Shiro was right. Lance wasn't vain at all._

"Sounds like a challenge I wanna take," Keith said, letting go of Lance's hips and grabbing the dropped lube bottle. He drizzled lube over his twitching cock to slick himself up while Lance worked himself open. Both of them moaned quietly as their eyes met, Lance thrusting and scissoring his fingers inside himself, adding a third while Keith stroked and squeezed his cock. Then Keith let go of himself and did the same to Lance, tightening his fingers around the base of his dick and working it with squeezing-slow strokes.  
  
"Nnngh, ahhh, fuck-" Lance thrust into Keith's hand and then back onto his own fingers, using Keith's thigh to steady himself with his free hand. "Keith, hnn-" Only a few more thrusts, and Lance pulled his fingers out of himself. Keith let go of his cock and instead put his hands on his hips, not to guide Lance, just to touch him.  
  
Lance took Keith's cock in his hand, and shifted a little, lining himself up and pressing himself down, taking Keith easily at first. "Oh _god_."

Keith watched as Lance sank down the length of his cock. He could feel Lance clenching around him and how _tight_ he was.

Lance moaned quietly as he finally settled on Keith's hips, relishing in how full he felt. "How are you so _thick?_ "  
  
"Alien genes," Keith said, resisting the urge to thrust up into Lance.  
  
"Fuck," Lance said. "You feel way bigger this way." He was faintly breathless, and rose a little off Keith's cock with a shudder. "God, Keith."  
  
Keith wanted to pull Lance down into a kiss, but he'd wait until Lance had set his pace. "Take your time, baby."  
  
Lance nodded. He continued to rise up until he almost off of Keith's cock, and slammed himself back down, both of them gasping loudly. And then again, faster and harder the second time as he watched Keith's face.  
  
"Fuck," Keith's voice was strangled as Lance started riding in earnest. Lance clenched tight every time he slammed down onto Keith's hips. "Fuck, Lance-"  
  
"Fuck Lance," Lance agreed between gasps, curling down over Keith and mouthed his neck. "Fuck me, _please._ "  
  
Keith gripped Lance by the hips, and caught Lance's mouth with his own, biting his upper lip and tugging gently. Lance licked into his mouth and moaned into the kiss, ending in a cry as Keith's grip on his hips tightened and Keith started thrusting up into him. "I got you."

Lance moaned loudly as he matched Keith's pace, the noises they both made getting louder the faster they got. "Kee- nnh - Keith, harder, touch me - ahhh - please touch me-"  
  
It took Keith's sex sotted brain a moment to realize that Lance wasn't like Shiro, who could come untouched from being fucked; this was Lance, and he was still learning his body. He let go of one of Lance's hips, their rhythmic fucking faltering only a few moments while he wrapped his fingers around Lance's cock, and then let the movement of their hips do all the work while Lance rutted into his hand. "Lance - haaaah - so tight, so good - nnnh - fuck, Lance, so good-"  
  
Lance's face was flushed, brown hair sticking to his forehead as he sped up their fucking. He moaned and gasped and cried out, trying to bury his face into Keith's shoulder as he got close, his cock throbbing in Keith's hand, clenching around Keith tighter with each thrust. "Keith...Keith!"  
  
"Come for me, baby," Keith murmured, fingers sinking into Lance's hips tighter than he meant to. The snap of his hips broke their rhythm as he drove his cock deep into Lance, aiming for his prostate with every thrust. "Lance, come for me-"  
  
Lance gave a shuddering gasp, his face pressed tight against Keith's shoulder, and his body tensing and tightening as he thrust helplessly against Keith's hand. Then he was moaning Keith's name and the occasional 'fuck' as he came.

Keith slowed down his thrusting while Lance rode out his orgasm, feeling Lance's tension melt into shaking limbs. Then he fucked him hard and fast and he moaned against Lance's sweaty cheek. Keith let go of Lance's softening cock and gripped his hips again, holding him still. Lance babbled out incoherent syllables until Keith finally came with a guttural moan, spilling himself empty inside of Lance. He could feel it drip out as he continued to thrust through it, finally slamming in deep and going still as he finished, feeling his cock throbbing in the tight heat of Lance's ass. " _...fuck_."  
  
Lance collapsed on top of him, still making those incoherent sounds while Keith's cock softened and slipped out of him. He wrapped his arms around Lance who looked at him with the fucked-out expression of one who's been completely debauched. "Kee."  
  
Keith laughed softly at the forgotten consonants at the end of his name, and he kissed Lance with no urgency behind it.  
  
"Mmm."  
  
Lance was happy to kiss, his arms encircling Keith's head. He made little contented sounds in his throat, occasionally breaking away to look at Keith as they both regained their breath.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly smutty fluff. Literal afterglow, showering together, and intercrural on the couch. (This was my original intent for #bottomlanceweek but I decided to weave it into this story instead). They're getting more comfortable with each other, and communication is getting easier.

"Lance, you're glowing," Keith said quietly, after several minutes of basking in post-coital bliss.  
  
Lance laughed sleepily. The idea of cleaning up and changing the bed seemed like an afterthought in his relaxed state. "I mean, they call it afterglow for a reason."  
  
"No, I mean, you're literally glowing." Keith sounded both awed and concerned.  
  
"Mmm." Lance pushed himself off of Keith and glanced down at the marks he could see on his ribs. "Yeah, that happens sometimes."  
  
"You didn't earlier," Keith said, turning on his side and propped his head on his hand.  
  
Lance smiled slyly. "It only happens when I'm really, really relaxed."  
  
"So this isn't a normal thing after sex."  
  
"No. Though maybe with you it will be," Lance suggested. "Relaxed and um, happy. That's what seems to trigger it."  
  
Keith reached over to touch the glowing mark beneath Lance's eye. "You're happy right now."  
  
"Yeah, I am," Lance said, turning to kiss Keith's wrist. "Is that weird?"  
  
"No, that's kind of what I was going for," Keith said with a wry grin.  
  
"Are you?" Lance asked, and the trepidation in his voice made Keith want to wince. "Happy?"  
  
"Very," Keith said, wrapping an arm around Lance and tugging him closer. "I don't glow like you do, so you'll just have to believe me."  
  
"I guess that's fair. Not everyone can be a human mood ring."  
  
They both laughed, kissed and laughed through the kisses. Then Lance sobered. "Keith, can I ask you something?"  
  
"I think it should go without saying that you can ask me anything, but yes, of course you can. You've shared a lot, and I feel it's only fair I offer it back."  
  
Lance took a deep breath. "Did you think I was abandoning you when I moved here?"  
  
Keith was silent at first as he looked into Lance's eyes. Nothing but authentic curiosity. No judgment. Just needing to know. "Subconsciously, I think I did."  
  
"But why?" Lance pressed. "I'm on the same planet. Hell, I'm closer by about two thousand miles, give or take."  
  
"I know," Keith said, closing his eyes. "It doesn't make any sense. It's just how I felt. Like, I knew exactly how to get to your house in Varadero, knew which flights to take, knew I'd be welcome no matter what time of day or night I showed up."  
  
"And I was being secretive about my move and selfish for not sharing why because I was embarrassed," Lance said softly, pushing Keith's sweaty bangs off his forehead. "I'm sorry about that."  
  
"Like I said, it doesn't make any sense," Keith said, opening his eyes and looking at Lance. "But...I'm hopeful it's still the case here?"  
  
"Of course it is," Lance said, still playing with Keith's hair. "I know it's not exactly convenient to get here, and the flight schedules usually suck and sometimes you have to go all the way to Dallas first, but-"  
  
Keith put a finger to Lance's lips to shush him. "I have a magic space wolf. And he knows how to get here."  
  
"Oh. Right," Lance said against Keith's finger. "Well. Now that I know I don't need to hide it, you're welcome here any time, day or night. You _and_ Shiro. Just like in Varadero. Doesn't have to be sex."  
  
"That means sex is on the table, though?"  
  
Lance laughed, playfully nipping Keith's finger. "With you, it is. You make me glow after all."  
  
It was true, Lance still was, though it was getting fainter now. "Hey...about that. How do you know that's what makes you glow anyway? Being relaxed and happy?"  
  
"I mean, I did live with my family for over a decade, and it happened a bunch, especially around holidays and big get-togethers. Especially with food comas," Lance said. "To paraphrase my nephew, 'you know a big dinner is a success if Tío Lancito is glowing by the time dessert comes around.' Unfortunately, it happened less as time went on. Not because I wasn't happy, but because of what my body's going through. It's hard to relax when you're achy."  
  
"Sex is good for that," Keith said. "I'm serious," he added at Lance's eye roll. "If I can bring up Shiro...?"  
  
"Of course," Lance nodded.  
  
"Well, he has phantom pains a lot, even with his prosthetic. Sex helps alleviate it. All those endorphins really do help."  
  
"I never thought about that," Lance admitted.  
  
Keith raised an eyebrow. "You've never jerked off to get rid of a headache?"  
  
"Nope. Never really thought about it."  
  
Keith grinned. "My turn to overshare. I got really bad headaches the first few weeks we were on the ship, and I'd go to the showers and jerk off to relieve them. It worked. You know you were in there one time when I was doing it. I'm surprised you didn't call me out on it."  
  
"I didn't hear you, or if I did I had no idea what you were doing," Lance said, but he was grinning too. "Only the one time?"  
  
"Probably a few times. Just the one time you were in the stall right next to mine," Keith said. "Had to bite my lip a lot and keep it quiet."  
  
"If that isn't every teenage boy's dream, to fool around in the showers." Lance laughed and kissed Keith. "Probably for the best we didn't, you and I had a major crossed wire somewhere when we were younger, that could've ended ugly."  
  
"Mostly mine," Keith agreed. "Really, I don't think I'd be where I am today without all that time with Mom to work out my issues. All we had was time. I'm still pissed about what happened when I was a kid, but don't let it define who I am anymore. I wouldn't even be with Shiro if I were still that pissed off kid, honestly."  
  
Lance touched Keith's cheek, caressing the curve of it gently when their eyes met again. "I really am sorry for dredging up old feelings — like abandonment."  
  
"Don't be," Keith said firmly. "Look, anger is my motivator. Perceived abandonment motivated me to come here, after all. And I'm really glad I did. I don't have any regrets about this, even if I accelerated something that may have taken several more years to even _address,_ never mind act on. My only regret is that I'm lying on a puddle of drying jizz and it's starting to flake and itch."  
  
Lance burst out laughing. "You're such a romantic," he said, sitting up. "Ugh, I just felt it leak out. Why do you come so much? You're like a damn firehose."  
  
Keith sat up too, absently brushing the flaking jizz off his thigh. "You think that's bad; I've learned all about how it is with full-blooded Galra."  
  
"I admit I'm curious," Lance said as he scooted off the bed and reached between his legs to try to catch it before it ran down his thighs.  
  
"I was gonna clean you up," Keith said, hopping off the bed too. "Hurry up to the bathroom before you drip all over the floor."  
  
"You can clean me up in the shower," Lance said with a grin as he hurried into the bathroom.  
  
The shower ended up being less of a shower and more of a frot session under hot running water. Keith spoke softly into Lance's ear, telling him about Galra anatomy and their copulation practices. "Their cocks get really engorged when they're aroused, they make mine look tiny in comparison," Keith murmured. Lance stroked them both as they rubbed against each other, and he gave a squeeze at the description. "They also have these glands that basically release self-lubricant, so they're always ready to go. Gets their cocks nice and slick for any hole. And they have _giant_ balls that get really hot to the touch."  
  
"Nnnh."  
  
"And they have a knot," Keith whispered. Lance made a puzzled noise at that and pulled away from Keith to look at him curiously.  
  
"Like...well, like animals do," Keith explained, picking up the slack where Lance had slowed his stroking and thrusting. "Locks them together, see. Once they come, they're locked into their partner until it subsides. And they come. A lot. You think _I'm_ like a firehose? They're literally like firehoses. Those giant balls hold a lot. We're talking they pull out and jizz would be streaming out of you."  
  
"Oh, Keith, fuck, GOD!"  
  
Keith chuckled as Lance shuddered against him, coming over their hands. He tightened his grip around them, grinding his dick against Lance's throbbing one, pressing shower wettened kisses to his neck and shoulder. "You like the idea of that?" he murmured against Lance's skin. "Having someone come in you so much that you're pouring with it when they pull out?"  
  
"Haah, haah, hnnh." Lance breathed hard against Keith's shoulder. "Fuck. I know it's not right but it's so hot - ahhh!" Lance let go of their cocks, his own overly sensitive and softening, as Keith tightened his grip around them both and jerked his hips faster. "Keith, hurry up, that's too much!"  
  
"I'm so close, baby - fuck - give me a minute," Keith growled. He gave their cocks a tight squeeze as he came a few pumps later.

Lance looked down between them and he grinned. "Look at that. I do like four to five little squirts and you're like one of those baking soda and vinegar science project volcanoes."  
  
Keith laughed and pressed his forehead against Lance's. "You are unbelievable. I'm not _that_ bad."  
  
Lance grinned cheekily as he took Keith's hand, bringing one of his jizz covered fingers to his mouth, sucking it amorously. "You are that bad," he said, licking his lips. "That's okay, you taste better than any protein shake."  
  
"Don't tease," Keith said, pulling his hand away from Lance and rinsing it under the water. "You're gonna get me riled up again."

  
\---

To be fair, Lance never said he'd stop teasing, and they ended up rutting naked on the couch while attempting to watch some horror movie Keith picked.

About halfway through the movie, Pidge called Keith. Lance was thrusting his cock between Keith's closed thighs and was being plenty loud about it. Keith grinned, knowing that Pidge could _probably_ hear it. "Hey, Pidge. We're just watching a horror movie. You're not interrupting anything. How are you?"  
  
"A horror movie," Pidge said as Lance moaned loudly right next to the phone. "If that's what we're calling porn these days, I'm down. I just wanted to confirm if we're picking you guys up at the spaceport tomorrow?"  
  
"Yeah," Keith said as Lance started to shudder against him. "Fifteen-hundred local time is when we land. So maybe around fifteen after?"  
  
"Sounds good, we'll meet you then," Pidge said as Lance cried out, bucking his hips against Keith's as he came. "...maybe turn the TV down a little, sounds like you're right on top of it. Have fun watching your 'horror movie.'"  
  
"I'm pretty much on top of it," Keith said as he rose off of Lance a little, rubbing his semi-hard dick against Lance's belly. "But you're right, I'll turn it down. Thanks, Pidge." He hung up his phone and kissed Lance's sweaty forehead. "You know we're getting come all over this couch."  
  
"Everything is washable," Lance said between gasping breaths.  
  


\---

  
The horror movie came to an end by the time both of them were spent, and they'd switched places. Lance used Keith as a pillow while Keith massaged sore spots on Lance's back. "Do you do anything for this?" Keith asked as Lance hissed at a particular tender spot. "Besides all those drugs?"  
  
"Yeah, I go to a massage therapist a few times a month. It helps a little. Hot baths. Those smelly menthol pads. My space yoga. The usual gamut of pain relief."  
  
Keith paused from his massaging. "Oh. Space yoga. You haven't done that yet."  
  
"Explains why I'm getting twinges," Lance said, though he made no move to get up.  
  
After a few more minutes of relaxation and Keith working on the knots in Lance's back, he insisted on Lance doing his routine. After he'd wiped them both off and took it upon himself to make up the bed and check on the laundry, of course. (As well as make half-assed attempts to wipe up the remnants of their hormonal ruttings off the couch.)  
  
If watching Lance do yoga in shorts and a tank top was a treat, watching him do it naked was the full banquet. Keith really, really wanted to take photos of it. Not even for lewd purposes, just for the absolute breathtaking living, breathing work of art Lance was while he stretched and flexed in ways that would have most people passing out.  
  
"Have I mentioned that you're fucking breathtaking?" Keith said as he gave up on wiping off the couch.  
  
"It's been an hour or so," Lance said, as he went into what looked remarkably like a king pigeon pose and held it. He looked at Keith from the corner of his eye and smiled. "I feel like I should constantly say how brutally hot you are."  
  
Keith laughed. "Only if you want to." He sat down on the couch and watched Lance go into something that was almost an exact match for the crow pose, amazed at how steady Lance was as he held himself. "I think the term you used once was grizzled? You do know that means going gray, right?"  
  
Lance's pose shook only a little as he laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Pidge got on me about that."  
  
"I bet she did," Keith grinned.  
  
Lance dropped down into a kneel and then stretched himself out, going into a boat pose. "Was that her on the phone earlier?"  
  
"Mmmhmm."  
  
"Did she think we were watching porn?"  
  
Keith was deadpan. "You heard me tell her we were watching a horror movie."  
  
Lance relaxed, lying back on the yoga mat and breathed evenly. "I cannot believe you answered the phone."  
  
"Didn't stop you," Keith said cheerfully. "You mad?"  
  
Lance shook his head, laughing. "No, not really. I hate horror movies and she knows that."  
  
"You hate horror movies? You play those video games where you get jump scared every five seconds," Keith said and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Yeah, that's different," Lance said, closing his eyes. "I'm directly interacting with those. I'm not with movies."  
  
"Well, you can always bury your face in my shoulder, because I _do_ like horror movies, and I almost always pick them when it's my turn to pick movies."  
  
"I could probably live with that," Lance said, continuing his cooldown. He didn't give any indication he heard Keith getting up and approach the mat - which to be fair was the point.

Lance opened his eyes to see Keith _right_ above him; Keith's eyes glowed bright gold, his pupils now slits, and he bared very sharp elongated canines.  
  
Lance's shriek was worth it. Keith backed away just in time to avoid their heads smacking each other as Lance jumped up. Keith was laughing, and Lance turned around and glared at Keith. "You _asshole_ ," Lance snapped, hurling the nearest throw pillow into Keith's face. "That's not funny!"  
  
"Yes, it is," Keith said, his eyes and teeth returning more or less back to normal. He snatched the pillow up off the ground. "You were directly interacting with a jump scare. Didn't like it?"  
  
"Jerk," Lance laughed. "I thought you couldn't control that?"  
  
Keith tossed the pillow onto the couch and helped Lance roll up the yoga mat. "What, my features? I can control that. Just making a face, no different than you rolling your tongue or crossing your eyes. Losing my cool? Yeah, my face changes, but other stuff does too. And yeah, I have a hard time controlling that." He held his arms open for a hug. "Sorry?"  
  
"You're a dick," Lance pouted, but he returned the hug anyway after shoving the mat against the wall in its usual spot. "You're not sorry either."  
  
"No, not really. That was an impressive shriek," Keith said, still grinning.  
  
"Shut up," he said, pushing Keith away from him playfully. "I'm gonna go check the laundry."


End file.
